Did you get bored watching reruns over the holidays? Well, put all that behind you; good things are coming. This week, in fact, is the start of Season 2 of Damages, which Ms. Snarker will tell you all about on Wednesday. I’ve already bought my popcorn and I expect Glen to melt the butter.

Then next week, on Jan. 16, Battlestar Galactica returns to wrap up its story. Who is the final Cylon? With this cast, who the frak cares?

January is just crazy with season premieres of returning shows. Tonight, Scrubs shows up at its brand new home, ABC, with Chief of Medicine Courtney Cox on hand to give it an energy shot. … continue reading

“One woman. Multiple personalities. The United States of Tara.”

The tagline pretty much says it all. The new Showtime series, written by Diablo Cody and produced by Steven Spielberg, stars Toni Collette as Tara, a wife and mother who has multiple personality disorder.

If MPD (dissociative identity disorder to you psych pros) sounds like a weighty subject for a half-hour comedy, well, it is. But if any network can pull it off, it’s Showtime. Here’s our first, behind-the-scenes look at The United States of Tara. (NSFW due to the F-bomb, so you'll have to visit the link.)_

I love it that Marshall, Tara’s gay teenage son, would rather read Valley of the Dolls than shoot a rifle at the gun range. I do hope, however, that if one of Collette’s alters is a lesbian, it’s not macho gun-lover Buck. … continue reading

When Steven Spielberg's concept for a dark comedy about a woman with dissociative identity disorder originally got press, Showtime exec Robert Greenblatt expressed confidence that The United States of Tara would attract "an extraordinary actress looking for a real tour de force opportunity." Turns out he was spot on; news just came out that the indeed extraordinary Toni Collette is set to star as the mum of two whose multiple personalities emerge under stress.

My first response to the news was to cheer; I adore Collette and can think of few women whom I'd rather see on a regular basis. Once I stopped grinning, though, I had to be surprised — both because Collette has been so very film-centric and because I think of her as a dramatic actor more than a comedian. But the film focus hasn't stopped Holly Hunter, Glenn Close or Mary-Louise Parker, so why shouldn't Collette join in this "golden age" for women on cable? And as for the comic aspect, I needed only think of my introduction to Collette, Muriel's Wedding, and I became as convinced as Greenblatt that "when you're casting a show that requires an actress to not only play one complex character, but in this case several, the road begins and ends with Toni Collette." … continue reading

Boy, the Spielbergs are all over Showtime these days.

Last season on The L Word, we watched Jessica Capshaw (Steven Spielberg's stepdaughter) play voluptuous grad student Nadia as she talked (and talked) and flirted and brought forth a serious "A"-game-wearing-down seduction of Bette Porter. Now another Showtime-Spielberg connection is in the offing. It was announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that Spielberg’s DreamWorks Television is bringing a new show, The United States of Tara, to a Showtime channel near you. … continue reading