Television

Balletic Finesse Amid the Science-Fiction Carnage

Guerrilla Games

In Killzone 2, a new game for Sony’s PlayStation 3, characters, above, wage war with aliens, the Helghast.

Despite its over-the-top title, Killzone 2 is the best new game of this young year, and the first legitimate 2009 Game of the Year candidate.

• Trailer: Killzone 2

No More ‘Life on Mars’

ABC canceled the show, which was adapted from a popular British television series of the same name.

‘High School Musical’ Heading Back to TV

The Walt Disney Company said that a fourth installment of “High School Musical,” with new lead actors, would return the franchise to its television roots.

Promising Start for Fallon’s ‘Late Night’

The first show of NBC’s “Late Night” with Jimmy Fallon as the host drew the show’s highest ratings for a Monday in more than three years.

Dispute Resolution at Comedy Central

A budgetary standoff between the comedian Sarah Silverman and Comedy Central has ended without bloodshed.

A Fill-In on Cable News Is Thrust Into Host’s Chair

The sudden assignment of Jane Velez-Mitchell to a permanent slot in the Headline News nightly schedule became a surprising success for the network.

Melting Pot of Melodrama Enthralls French Nightly

Some 13 million people, nearly a fifth of the French population, tune in weekly to follow the convoluted fates of the families on the soap opera “Plus Belle la Vie.”

A Plea to Keep Cameras Rolling in New York

Film and television workers are asking the state to expand, not cut, a program of tax breaks to production studios.

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Liked the Show? Maybe It Was the Commercials

Hate commercials? They may enhance your television-viewing experience.

Babies and the Boob Tube

Are all those "educational" videos, which claim to make baby smarter, making any difference at all?.

Sarah Silverman Threatens to Quit Show

A dispute over money has at least temporarily brought a halt to the Comedy Central series, “The Sarah Silverman Program.”

A ‘Stone’ Cold Victory on Sunday for CBS

“Jesse Stone: Thin Ice,” the fifth in a series of made-for-television movies, lifted CBS to No. 1 in the ratings on Sunday.

‘South Park,’ a Vision and a Payoff

While Hollywood and network studios are struggling to find the future, the creators of the show “South Park” have created a visionary broadcasting model.

Product Placements, Deftly Woven Into the Story Line

A new show on BET, “Harlem Heights,” will incorporate Listerine, Zyrtec, Splenda and other Johnson & Johnson products into the show.

• Accounts, People & Miscellany

Sitcoms Serve Up Comfort Laughs

Old-economy hits are more successful than ever, suggesting that network viewers prefer comforting comedy to high-wire satire.

Car Crashes to Please Mother Nature

“24” is going green, becoming the first “carbon neutral” television series.

Don’t Worry, Bedtime’s Safe With the Lads

In a universe where a viewer can watch anything at any time, late night hosts like Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O’Brien form a comfortably familiar united front.

Offering Terror of an Everyday Variety

On “Breaking Bad,” on AMC, a chemistry teacher turned drug manufacturer muddles through the world’s worst midlife crisis.

No Small Parts, Just Noteworthy Actors

“DAMAGES” may be all about Glenn Close as the she-devil lawyer Patty Hewes, but no one would ever sue her for not sharing the spotlight.

Dynamic Duo

The comedy team talks about how to make it in Manhattan, why New Zealanders don’t like their own accents and why the government should do its own TV show.

• TV Series: Flight of the Conchords

A Golf Swing Coach’s TV Project (Charles Barkley)

Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’s swing coach, recently took a stab at straightening the swing of the basketball player Charles Barkley for a new TV show.

What Are You Doing? Media Twitterers Can’t Stop Typing

The Internet has revolutionized society by giving anyone — including journalists — an instant and unfiltered outlet for self-expression.

Nervous but Excited, Jimmy Fallon Enters the Late-Night Fray

The comedian joins one of the most exclusive clubs in television on Monday night, when he becomes the third host of NBC’s “Late Night.”

Broadcast TV Faces Struggle to Stay Viable

Networks still pull in the biggest audiences, but they are losing the cultural and the financial battle to cable.

• Room for Debate: Network TV

Do We Need Network TV?

As TV programming splinters to appeal to thinner slices of the audience, what replaces that communal experience?

‘Idol’ Wins, of Course

“American Idol” lifted Fox to No. 1 in the ratings on Thursday night.

Sometimes, the Crime Finds the Cop

On Sunday on CBS, Tom Selleck returns as Jesse Stone, a small-town police chief, in “Thin Ice,” the fifth installment of a series of television movies.

• Video: 'Jesse Stone: Thin Ice'

Seinfeld Returning to NBC as Reality-Show Producer

NBC said on Thursday that Jerry Seinfeld is returning to the network as the producer of a prime-time series called “The Marriage Refs.”

‘The Simpsons’ Returns and Sets a Record

On Thursday Fox said that it had renewed “The Simpsons” for two more seasons, confirming that the show would become the longest-running scripted prime-time TV series.

‘Idol’ Wins Again; ‘Lost’ Loses Ground

A two-hour edition of Fox’s “American Idol” featuring performances by the 12 semifinalists easily outperformed its network competitors on Wednesday.

Writers Guild Panel Meets With Leno

A panel convened by the Writers Guild of America met with Jay Leno on Wednesday as part of a disciplinary process stemming from the guild’s recent strike.

Wendy Richard, 65, British Actress, Is Dead

Ms. Richard’s four-decade television career included roles in “Are You Being Served?” and “EastEnders.”

15 Years of Blood (Fake), Sweat and Tears (Real)

Plenty of stars have had stints on “ER,” but it’s the off-camera veterans who have kept the hospital humming throughout the show’s lengthy run.

• Interactive: Plenty of Guts, Little Glory

Nice, Friendly Chats, With Music

“The Chris Isaak Hour” is a sort of “Inside the Actors Studio” for musicians, and it’s hard to imagine a friendlier place for a musician to drop by, chat and play a few songs.

Lifestyles of the Rich, Famous and African-American

One of the immediate repercussions of Barack Obama’s journey to the White House has been a frenzied eagerness by the news media to showcase the lives of prominent and well-to-do African-Americans.

Time Travel? Easy. Finding a Guy? Not.

“Being Erica,” a Canadian series on SoapNet, manages to redeem both the efforts of its home country and the channel that exists to ensure that there is virtually no time of day when it might be impossible to watch “One Life to Live.”

Wins for ‘NCIS’ and ‘Biggest Loser’

An hourlong edition of “The Biggest Loser” on NBC on Tuesday night attracted the series’s highest ratings among viewers 18 to 49 since its January premiere.

An Industry Is Booming, but Not Just for Gamers

The most successful game developers these days are the ones that recognize that all different kinds of people now play all different kinds of games.

Andy Richter to Rejoin Conan O’Brien

Conan O’Brien is bringing a big part of his past to his future role as host of “The Tonight Show”: Andy Richter.

Rivals Unafraid to Borrow, or Steal, From Each Other

Nickelodeon has been fighting some of the recent successes of the Disney Channel with some fairy dust of its own.

Bloody Fights for Primacy in a Graphic-Novel Setting

Animal Planet has pushed the genre of anthropomorphic theatrics to some kind of daffy apotheosis with “Dark Days in Monkey City.”

Among Oscars’ Reruns, a Few Standout Acts

In another sign of how drastically the recession is forcing Madison Avenue to pinch pennies, many of the spots shown during the Academy Awards were reruns.

Oscar Ratings Are Up

Ratings for the 81st Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night were up significantly over last year’s telecast, the least-watched Oscars on record.

A Dose of Deference and Earnest Showbiz

Hugh Jackman was a shrewd, even thrifty choice for a recession-era Oscar night.

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Thrill of Victory, the Agony of the Host

“Wreckreation Nation,” a freewheeling show on Discovery, drops its star into various odd competitions and other events around the United States.

• Audio Slide Show: Surviving Ski Joring

Seeking Salvation, Saving Others

Several reality series shown on channels better known for celebrations of frivolity and excess are embracing the idea of redemptive transformation.

Lauren Graham

Ms. Graham is making her Broadway debut in “Guys and Dolls.”

Actors Guild Rejects ‘Last’ Contract Offer

The Screen Actors Guild’s board of directors on Saturday rejected the “last, best and final offer” by Hollywood producers for a new contract.

‘Project Runway’ Battle Dampens Fashion Week

Each season on “Project Runway,” a buzzword seems to emerge from the fashion ether. This season “bummer” may be the operative word.