» Shows to Know

In this extended clip from 'V,' the upcoming reimagining of the 1983 sci-fi miniseries, the world braces itself as a race of aliens known only as "The Visitors" arrives on the scene. As any fan of the original series knows, The Visitors are not entirely what they seem. Expect alien subterfuge and imperiled pets when the hotly anticipated remake begins November 3.

Check out the first 9:30 of the pilot after the jump.

Watch 'V' full episodes at SlashControl.

A 'Star Wars' variety show, starring characters named "Itchy" and "Lumpy?" An inexplicable musical number by none other than the late Bea Arthur? And since when did the 'Star Wars' universe expand to encompass Harvey Korman and Art Carney? One wouldn't be too far off the mark to accuse the creators of 'The Star Wars Holiday Special' of having been drunk on Jawa Juice when they made this legendarily bad (aka, awesome) slice of holiday entertainment.

Starring the entire "Star Wars" cast with the exception of Alec Guinness, the 1978 special was produced with the intent of capitalizing on 'Star Wars' mania. Instead, it set a low-water mark for bizarre television. The plot, such as it is, involves Chewbacca rushing home to his home planet of Kashyyyk to celebrate "Life Day," the Wookie equivalent of Christmas.

In what Jeff Probst called the "scariest moment on 19 seasons" of 'Survivor,' contestant Russell Swan collapsed twice and appeared to be on the brink of death. He was the second 'Survivor: Samoa' player after Mike Borassi to be medically evacuated.

After the Galu tribe leader blacked out, Probst declared, "This challenge is over, neither tribe wins reward" -- making it the first time in 'Survivor' history that a challenge was unfinished. And though both teams were sent to tribal council to vote someone off, Probst informed them that everybody would be safe -- this week.

Watch Russell's injury moment from TV's Top 5! after the jump ...

Attention, Gleeks! There's a veritable choir-gasm of news today about 'Glee,' which is featured on this week's cover of Entertainment Weekly. Let's start with the happy announcement that Fox is jumping the gun and releasing a 'Glee' DVD even before the first season is finished. The first 13 episodes will be available on disc by December 29.

Variety reports that 'Glee Season One: Road to Sectionals' will feature the director's cut of the pilot episode, behind-the-scenes features, videos of cast auditions and, of course, musical numbers from the show. A full-season DVD will be released after the rest of the season airs in 2010; purchasers of the 'Road to Sectionals' DVD will get a discount voucher so that they don't have to pay for the same episodes twice.

More 'Glee' news, featuring Madonna, Adam Lambert and Barack Obama, after the jump ...

Why is everyone in the geekosphere floating on clouds of bliss today? Because last night was the season 4 premiere of 'The Venture Brothers' on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Aside from the consensus on Twitter and elsewhere that the adventure/comic book parody series (think 'Jonny Quest' on acid) is up to its usual standards of inventive ridiculousness and nerd-culture savvy, there's also a tangle of new plot and character complications to keep fans buzzing until next Sunday's episode. Here's a crib sheet to help you catch up ...

ABC may have given 'FlashForward' a vote of confidence this week by ordering an ample 25-episode first season, but many viewers and critics are less than enchanted by the show touted as the next 'Lost.'

After months of high expectations before the sci-fi drama even premiered, some would-be fans are so disappointed with the show's perceived shortcomings -- characters that are hard to empathize with, plots that hardly advance from week to week, and a brilliant premise betrayed by poor execution -- that they're comparing it to 'Heroes' instead of 'Lost.' But it's not too late! Perhaps 'FlashForward' can be fixed if the writers and producers follow these six suggestions ...

Let's face it: Kitty's cancer on 'Brothers & Sisters' has been a downer, but the mood's about to get a lot lighter. Gilles Marini, of 'Dancing With the Stars' and 'Sex and the City' movie fame, starts a five-episode arc Sun., Oct. 18 as French artist Luc Laurent, a love interest for Rachel Griffiths' Sarah.

"Luc's a painter, who lives in a barn," Marini recently told AOL TV. "It's really love at first sight [with Sarah]. There will be cooking, dancing, drama and excitement. Luc's a Renaissance Man. You're going to see a real romance."

"We'll trick those race-car loving wide-loads into watching your lefty homoerotic propaganda hour yet!" That's Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), telling Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) that NBC seems to have lost touch with "real America," and that she has to get heartland viewers to watch her comedy series, "TGS with Tracy Jordan."

That line is from tonight's season 4 premiere of '30 Rock' and its meta-punchline neatly encapsulates the show's dilemma: how to attract viewers to a show that most aren't watching, despite the outpouring of love from big-city TV critics and Emmy voters.

'Ugly Betty' fans are going to have to wait a week longer to see Betty's long-awaited makeover, visits from such chic stars as Shakira and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and the latest mysteries and mishaps at Mode magazine.

ABC is delaying the season 4 debut from this Friday, Oct. 9 to Oct. 16, when it'll air as a two-hour premiere before settling into its new 9PM Friday time slot.

Why the lag time? According to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has been using its Friday night primetime desert to squeeze extra rerun value out of new and struggling shows. The bumping of 'Betty' allows the network to wring one more week's use out of that catch-it-if-you-missed-it slot.

I've never really understood art. But on a trip to New York, I did my dutiful rounds of the big museums and discovered a painter I really dig. His name was Henry Darger, and he was a recluse who devoted his life to writing the epic story of the Vivian Girls. The Vivian Girls were children who fought some kind of evil force in the world. By all accounts, this book sucks. But as an aide-memoire, Darger also drew and painted scenes from his book, and these pieces are astounding. I bought a few postcard reproductions and I keep them over my desk to remind me that sometimes, you're not making the art you think are.

I like Darger a lot - but I would never want to watch a TV show about his life.