TVSquad

That was some Mad Men finale, wasn't it? If you haven't seen it yet, please stop reading now, because there was just too much going on for me not to just launch into some discussion.

OK, I'll wait until after the jump to really get into things. But, suffice to say, the end of season three left some characters going down a pretty well-determined path, but others have entered a sort of limbo state, where we don't quite know what their roles will be in season four.

It looks like HBO is so in love with Gabriel Byrne's turn as Dr. Paul Weston that they're willing to go into uncharted territory with him. While the Isreali series BeTipul, on which it was based, only went two seasons, HBO has ordered a third round of In Treatment.

This is significant because the series remained incredibly faithful to the original series through both of its first two seasons. For this new third season, the writers will have to create all new patients, stories and drama for our beleaguered psychotherapist. Gabriel Byrne is already attached to continue his role, of course. It wouldn't be a show without him. I hope they can secure Dianne Wiest again as Paul's mentor and therapist, Gina.

The modern poster-child for a show that's "gone too soon" is Jericho. The impassioned fans buried CBS under a ton of nuts, which got the show renewed for a shortened second season. Your mileage of the quality of that season may vary, but the fact remains that the fans did something none of these internet campaigns today will be able to.

What people don't realize is that when Jericho came back for the second run, the ratings weren't any better than when the first season ended. So when they cancel your favorite show and you start mailing in bizarre objects and setting up your web petitions because "it worked for Jericho," remember that the networks remember Jericho as well. They remember that it failed to find a sizable audience twice.

When I was in LA a couple of weeks ago, I was among a number of critics who were able to get a look at the first episode of Mad Men's third season, and I have to tell you, I liked it a lot.

Here's the problem: What do I say about it?

In the various conversations the other critics and I had with Matt Weiner, Jon Hamm and the rest of the cast during the TCAs, we were very politely asked not to reveal anything about the show, especially when it comes to when the first episode takes place. Remember that there was a two-year jump between seasons one and two, and I guess Weiner wants to keep the timeframe a secret this time around.

"You're going to get to see stuff before the audience does," said Weiner about me and my fellow critics. "Let them have the same experience you had."

Fair enough. But without the timeframe and a couple of other tidbits, it's tough to talk much about season three. But I'm gonna try. If I spoil anything, it'll be after the jump.

It's hard to deny the passion that fans of CBS's late apocalyptic drama Jericho had. Their "nuts" campaign prompted the network to reverse order and bring back the show after officially canceling it. That second season did provide some closure on many of the dangling plot threads, but some fans felt it didn't live up to the quality of the first. Whether this had to do with the reduced episode order or the reduced budget is uncertain, but none of that matters now.

Thanks to the ongoing dedication of those fans, Devil's Due Publishing has inked a deal with CBS Consumer Products to continue the story of Jericho in comic book format. Both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel have had amazing success publishing their new "seasons" in the comic book medium. More recently, Sci Fi's Farscape launched a comic continuation of its own, while many other properties are telling original tales in comics (Eureka, Supernatural and Fringe come to mind). But with Jericho being far less sci-fi/fantasy in its presentation, it'll be interesting to see if its fans follow it to this new medium.

There are two significant things to take from the news that Army Wives will return for a fourth season. One, the predominantly female viewership of Lifetime has embraced the series about the lives of Army personnel and their families on the Fort Marshall post in Charleston, South Carolina; and two, scripted dramas are on the rise all across the cable networks. It also means that this finely acted, well-written and well produced show is going to be around for the next couple of years at least.

(S03E10) So much is going to happen in the last two episodes of Dexter, and this episode set it all up. It was a tense one, and I enjoyed watching Dexter's and Miguel's little game of cat and mouse.

However, I really missed some of the lighter moments we often see in Dexter, like the quotes with double meanings, the underlying serial killer humor, if you will. There was one at the very beginning, though, that was classic Dexter. On toying with the idea of killing Miguel, Dexter says in his voice over: "He's also my best man. I'd be expected to grieve."

Join me after the jump as I delve into some of the foundations that have been laid for the last two episodes.

(S03E07) A lot of significant events happened in tonight's episode of Dexter. What to make of the title, "Easy As Pie?" I think it refers to Dexter being able to make decisions. All his life, he's lived by Harry's code. Now, as we see him breaking it, or deciding whether or not he should break it, we see things being easier for Dexter.

Far be it from me to reveal anything before the jump, like the fact that Rita is pregnant or that Dexter is a serial killer (whoops -- did I just give something away?). Join me after the break to analyze tonight's plot points.

On this Monday afternoon, we've got three copies of My Name Is Earl - Season Three on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The DVD is available in stores starting tomorrow.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Sunday, October 5 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Tracy Morgan is a busy man. Along with his role on the NBC comedy 30 Rock, now entering its third season, Tracy is also taking on the reigns of host of the SciFi Channel program Scare Tactics, also in its third season. Premiering on July 9th, Scare Tactics is a hidden-camera, reality-comedy hybrid that allows friends and loved ones to set up unsuspecting victims into a series of horror hoaxes that are staged with movie-style special effects and makeup.

Earlier this week, Tracy, who is the third host of the program after Shannen Doherty and Stephen Baldwin hosted the first two seasons, joined Tactics' Executive Producer Scott Hallock on a conference call to talk about this upcoming season.

Psych is coming back! Starting on July 18th, the comedy starring James Roday and Dule Hill will be returning to USA Network with all new episodes. The third season of this series looks to be a very interesting one, as viewers will finally get to meet Shawn Spencer's long-lost mother as well as get to see a more dramatic side of the character ... something we got a taste of during the last few episodes of last season.

The two stars of Psych got together with the press last week to touch on a number of subjects. Topics included a preview of the upcoming season, a discussion about the duo's "Ebony & Ivory" commercial, Roday's appearance on the NBC anthology Fear Itself, and the never-ending 1980s references that the two spout during each episode.

I could be wrong here, but I think most fans of Veronica Mars felt that season three was clearly its weakest. For me, in fact, the third season was so disappointing that I wasn't going to even bother completing my DVD collection for the series.

Now that I've gotten to take an early look at the Veronica Mars season three DVD set, I'm going to say that if you were also thinking of not grabbing this set, you may want to reconsider.

(S03E23) Here's something I found odd about tonight's episode, though not really having to do with it being a season finale. Why is it that a seemingly not-so-well-off Cuban couple can go through great pains to find House, and yet this is what I believe to be the first time a foreign patient has sought out House's expertise?

(S03E03) Finally, a new episode for me. Hey, it's harder than you think when you watch the first two episodes over a month ago. I feel a lot better about this season after seeing this episode. I didn't get the feeling like they were rushing us through the main mystery of this portion of the season, and instead we had a nice mini mystery thrown in.

(S03E02) As you can see, the writers are quickly moving along the first mystery of the season. No more episodes thrown in that have only little or nothing to do with the big mystery of the season, which I think is a little sad. Given that last week's numbers were lower than we'd like, I'm nervous. Real nervous.