Well, last night during the eight-season premiere, we finally got to see the revamped Smallville, minus former Day One regulars Michael Rosenbaum as tortured, increasingly diabolical gazillionaire Lex Luthor and Kristin Kreuk as fair, increasingly annoying girl next door Lana Lang.

In their place, roughly, we have new villainess Tess Mercer, played by recent cast addition Cassidy Freeman, and the return of Green Arrow/Oliver Queen, played by Justin Hartley, the only guy in the world who looks good in vibrant green pleather or tights or whatever his get-up is made of. Neither comes close to restoring the series’ urgency in the absence of the lone villain who previously made Smallville worth watching from week to week, meaning Rosenbaum’s Lex, of course.

So, aside from longtime fans not being able to get over the departure of a central, integral character — note I don’t mention Kreuk’s Lana because we knew from the get-go she’d have to go eventually to make room for Superboy’s fated love Lois Lane), did the season opener “Odyssey” work?

Not for me. Everything was too convenient, resulting in an episode that seemed contrived and flat when you add up all the parts. Throw in Mercer/Freeman’s ridiculously expressionless face (if she were older, I’d wonder if she’d overdone the Botox), which seems to have slight variations of only one setting, blank/stare/glare, and the effect is complete.

I’ve got many questions on my mind. For instance, I can buy Chloe losing her power to heal, but where did the superhuman intelligence come from? Yes, she’s always been smart and, better still, cunning. But why such a broad ability, completely unrelated to healing, emerging just as the big Baddie is trying to track down the individual Justice League members? Convenient, no?

And why, oh, why would Clark just stand still and allow Oliver to shoot him not once, but twice with his poisoned arrows? I suppose because that’s what the plot required to move along to the desired conclusion, namely a trip to the sun and restored alien-ness. In that case, it’s doubly convenient that Chloe couldn’t heal him herself on the spot, in which case Clark would’ve most likely been plain old human again.

So, sure, all of the many expedient plot twists help wrap everything up in a pretty bow, but they also make the viewing experience quite boring and unsatisfying in my opinion. Smallville has got to do better than this as Season Eight unfolds. Throw us a truly shocking surprise or something every now and then, will ya.

The Verdict: C

I am so happy that ABC Family’s fantastic urban drama Lincoln Heights, the recipient of numerous NAACP Image Award nominations, has made it to a third season. Hopefully, many more are in store.

Season Three kicks off tonight at 8pm EST with the first of ten fresh episodes called “Glass House.” The title hints at the fragility of a home, a theme reflected in the central plot when a group of thugs break into the Sutton house while Cassie and her boyfriend Charles are upstairs. Frightening stuff.

The situation becomes even more typically intense when the teenagers, who tried to hide in the attic, are found and held hostage. Clearly, Lincoln Heights has no intention of losing its edge, a fact that I find very satisfying. So, I expect the series to remain one of my favorites.

Check out a couple of trailers for the show below before catching the season premiere tonight. And, later this week, I’ll have an interview I participated in earlier today with series stars Russell Hornsby and Nicki Micheaux, who play the elder Suttons, parents Eddie and Jenn.

I’m back! Let’s get to business now that the Fall 2008 season is revving up.

Monday | September 15

Lost: Our favorite desert-island denizens arrive in syndication on the Sci Fi Channel, starting with this four-episode mini-marathon that begins with the pilot. Given the show’s popularity, perhaps the network might even keep it on Mondays from 7–11pm instead of moving it around or removing it all together, a common practice with most other syndicated series. Fingers crossed. [7pm EST/Sci Fi Channel]

The Closer: The fourth season reaches the halfway point and bows out with the appropriately titled episode “Time Bomb.” Since Team Brenda has been having a hard time of it lately, thanks to intrepid reporter Ricardo Ramos, expect this midseason finale to sizzle with tension and potential explosions. [9pm EST/TNT]

Weeds: With a lengthy title like “If You Work For A Living, Why Do You kill Yourself Working?” how can the series’ fourth-season finale go wrong, especially when Nancy has made the huge leap to getting in bed with the DEA? [10pm EST/Showtime]

Tuesday | September 16

House: The medicine man is back for Season Five. [8pm EST/Fox]

Lincoln Heights: Thank you, ABC Family, for renewing this excellent urban family drama for a third season. [8pm EST/ABC Family]

Wednesday | September 17

Ultimate Fighter: This is popular, right? Season Eight begins. [10pm EST/Spike TV]

Thursday | September 18

Smallville: I never thought a youth-oriented, genre series like this would make it so far. Congrats as it opens Season Eight. Here’s hoping the plotlines and action improve enough to hold onto the target audience, particularly after the loss of Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum as series regulars. [8pm EST/The CW]

Supernatural: This is my Hot Pick of the Week. Season Four opens with fans eagerly awaiting developments following Dean’s third season-ending trip to hell. The title “Lazarus Rising” is encouraging, but for how long? [9pm EST/The CW]

Burn Notice: Another halfway mark, and, thankfully, this midseason finale will feature the return of Tricia Helfer as Michael’s cunning handler. [10pm EST/USA]

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season Four of one of television’s rare truly funny sitcoms opens with a double-episode, hourlong block. [10pm EST/FX]

Friday | September 19

20/20: Impressive — Season 31 premieres. [10pm EST/ABC]

Saturday | September 20

Primeval: The second season begins. [9pm EST/BBC America]

Sunday | September 21

60th Primetime Emmy Awards: It’s Emmy time! I wonder who’s gonna win… [8pm EST/ABC]

If, like me, you’ve been looking forward to ABC Family producing another refreshing miniseries after its success during the last two summers with Fallen, tonight is the night that will happen when Samurai Girl premieres.

Parts One and Two of the “Book of the Sword” air at 8pm EST tonight, followed by the two-parters “Book of the Heart” on Saturday and “Book of the Shadow” on Sunday, both beginning at 8pm.

I’ll admit that advance viewing of “Book of the Sword” has tempered my expectations of the miniseries somewhat — in other words, it ain’t no Fallen — but I still believe you can’t go too wrong with Jamie Chung‘s new gig this weekend. Pop some popcorn, kick off your shoes, and chill while letting your brains cells relax.

Check out the extended trailer below to help you decide whether or not to make the big three-night, six-hour plunge as 19-year-old Heaven (Chung) maximizes her sword-fighting skills and then goes after her wealthy adoptive father for killing her beloved brother, all while avoiding the lethal intentions of Japanese mafia-backed killer ninjas.

Certainly sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

USA will work more of its familiar crime-dramedy magic tonight at 10pm EST when Psych welcomes Monday Night Raw WWE Diva Mickie James for her first guest-star gig on a scripted TV show.

The popular professional wrestler, who couldn’t seem less scary or nicer during conversation, plays a member of a roller derby team that Detective Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson) infiltrates in order to squash a robbery ring.

Earlier this week, James took the time to answer questions about her appearance in the episode “Talk Derby to Me,” as well as her career in general. Read on to get the goods on both and perhaps even learn a few things that might surprise you.

What got you started in wrestling?

MICKIE JAMES: Honestly, I’ve been a fan of wrestling ever since I was a little girl. I remember watching it with my dad and my grandpa. I’ve just been an avid fan for a number of years. I kind of fell into it. I was working at this bar, and at the time, it was WCW and WWE. And so any time I was working and wrestling was on, it was on the TV, and I was just glued to it.

So a friend of mine was like, “Well, a buddy of mine has a school up in D.C.,” which is like two and a half hours from me. “It’s up around D.C. You should go up there and check it out.” I was just totally baffled at the fact that there was even such a thing as a wrestling school.

I was looking into getting into kickboxing, and I took martial arts when I was in high school. And so I was looking, a single girl living in the city. I just wanted to take some type of self-defense and do something besides just working out in the gym every day— To do something that was athletic and keep my mind and my body in shape, as well.

I ended up going up there and checking it out. And then I signed right up, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Now it’s going on eleven years later.

How did you come into this part on Psych? Did you audition for it?

MICKIE JAMES: Ironically enough, James [Roday], who plays [Shawn Spencer] on the show, is a big wrestling fan, and he actually requested me due to the storyline that I had with Trish Stratus when I first came in. So I’m really honored to be a part of it. I was actually really honored that he actually requested me.

What was your favorite part of working on the show?

MICKIE JAMES: I think it was interacting with everyone backstage because they were funny. They made me feel really, really comfortable because I was a little nervous at first because I’d never really done— I’d done like Celebrity Fit Club and stuff like that, but I’d never done any type of acting on a TV show or anything like that.

So it was really, really cool to be able to see that side, because everything that we do on Monday Night RAW is live. So it’s an in-the-moment kind of deal, and it was just cool to be able to go through and see how it’s done on this side of the industry.

Which of the shows stars did you get to work with and how was the experience with them?

MICKIE JAMES: The co-star I worked with most was Maggie [Lawson] because most of the scenes that I did were with her because I was portraying this villainess roller derby girl, and she was actually under cover in my roller derby group. So we actually got to work a lot with each other.

Is acting in a scene with James Roday and Dulé Hill as fun as watching them on TV?

MICKIE JAMES: Absolutely. I mean those two are characters. They were cutting up the whole time, and it was so hard to keep a straight face a lot of the time because they had me laughing a lot. They were giving me, definitely, a run for my money because we were just joking around the whole time.

Was your athletic background helpful in your role?

MICKIE JAMES: Absolutely. And, plus, they didn’t know this, but when I was younger, my mom used to work at— It was actually Skateland at the time, and I think it’s still called that actually. So I used to go up there all of the time, plus I used to ride horses.

So I’ve always been an athlete, but I used to go up there all of the time and skate. I was a little nervous since I hadn’t put on a pair of skates in a while. But I picked it right back up, which was really neat, because I was pretty good at it when I was younger. So I didn’t fall down, which was a good thing.

How often were you on skates in the episode? Was it just a really quick thing or were you on them for most of the filming?

MICKIE JAMES: There was a few days where I was on them all day, which was really cool, because we also had the Vancouver roller derby team there. So they taught me some cool ways to fall, just in case I fell down, which I didn’t need it, but—

But it was neat because they showed me some cool slides and different ways to fall. I learned this really cool— It looks like a rock slide almost, like how rock and rollers do the rock slide across the stage. So I learned that slide and I learned different ways to fall down. I had some skating background, which was good for me, so I was able to do that. Plus, I was able to practice a little bit before the filming.

Did you get to do any kind of training?

MICKIE JAMES: Well, I didn’t really train for it prior to it, except for once I got there on set, the downtime in between or before we’d shoot. I’d try to go out there and skate around just to make sure that I was okay.

What surprised you the most about working on Psych that you weren’t expecting?

MICKIE JAMES: How just down-to-earth and cool everybody was because I was expecting everybody to be wrapped up in their own role or in their own world. I didn’t really know what to expect, so I was very pleased when I got there to be so warm, and everybody was really cool and down-to-earth. We all laughed and we all joked, and they just accepted me and made me feel very comfortable, which was really refreshing.

What did you find the most challenging about working on Psych?

MICKIE JAMES: The most challenging was making sure that I had my lines down and to get into the character because I don’t really memorize a lot of lines. I do acting. I have bullet points that I need to hit for Monday Night RAW. There are certain bullet points, but there’s no set verbiage as what I’m supposed to say. I found that most challenging, and I studied really hard, and I tried to get my lines down as much as possible.

I think I did pretty good. I really didn’t forget my lines that much. But to be able to memorize the lines and to get locked into the character and become the character at the same time, because it’s not always the part, something that you yourself would say. It’s the character that you’re acting would say. Do you know what I mean?

Is there one funny moment or something that happened while you were filming that you can talk about?

MICKIE JAMES: I stood around and watched them film a lot. Just seeing Dulé and James interact between each other a lot was hilarious to me because they were constantly cutting on each other. There wasn’t really any funny moments or anything that happened that was out of the ordinary. It was just everybody cutting up and just having a good time.

What would you think of Psych doing a WWE-themed episode?

MICKIE JAMES: That would be awesome. That would be really, really cool.

How much or were you really aware that there were roller derbies out there and going on? I guess if your mom used to work at Skateland maybe you knew about them. How much of this kind of exposed you to that world?

MICKIE JAMES: Well, I’d seen where there was a show about roller derby girls, and I knew it was making a comeback as far as the roller derby kind of deal. When I worked there, they had the hockey and stuff like that on skates. But there was really no roller derby team; but I think there is one there now. It really kind of opened my eyes to that world because I really wasn’t that aware of it, aside from what I’d seen on TV or just here and there.

Since you come from the wrestling world, how do you feel about roller derby and the roller girls?

MICKIE JAMES: I have a newfound respect for them because, like I said before, the Vancouver roller derby team was there with us showing us different stuff with roller derby and stuff. I didn’t realize that they were as tough and that they get out there and they pretty much beat each other up a little bit. I respect that being an athlete myself and getting beat up and beating people up all of the time.

I respect it a lot because that kind of stuff takes a toll on your body. You’re not only using your mind thinking up your next move, but your body is taking punishment, and it’s exhausting and you have to work on adrenaline a lot of times, too. I found it really, really neat, and it opened my eyes to their world a little bit. So I have a newfound respect for them.

So would you say the physicality is almost the same?

MICKIE JAMES: No, I wouldn’t say the physicality is somewhat the same because I think that they’re tough or whatever. But in the world of wrestling, we’re on the road 300 days out of the year. We don’t have an off season, and we travel from city to city, and we put on a live show every night. Plus, you have to get to the gym and everything else.

So I think that our industry is very demanding on your body. I know that the roller derby, they probably do it once a week — where they have a match once a week and then they have the rest of the week for their body to recuperate and then they go back to their regular jobs — and it’s more of a hobby, [whereas] the wrestling is my job.

How is acting in the ring different than acting on a series?

MICKIE JAMES: Well, the thing is in the ring everything that we do— I wrestle on Monday Night RAW, and everything is live. So if I mess up, the whole world knows it. The difference, I would say, is that if I mess up on-camera while we’re filming then, we can cut and we can redo it, and you can do it two different ways. We won’t just shoot it once. We’ll shoot it at least three times or whatever just in case. I may do something different in each take, and there’s just one that we like better.

Whereas in the ring, since everything is live, you get one shot to do it, and you do your best and hope for the best. It was cool to see the differences of the world as far as … since everything is live on our show. There’s a lot of pressure as far as performance to be there right on time.

And there’s a lot of pressure, as well, filming just because it’s another aspect, and you want to make sure that you’re open to the camera or that you hit it differently every time, whether it’s the expression on your face or whatever, just so you can play with it and see which one you like the best.

Now that you’ve tried two different types of filming and doing the live stuff and doing the pre-produced stuff, which was more comfortable for you?

MICKIE JAMES: I think I found more comfort, obviously, because I’m more comfortable with the live. That’s what I’m accustomed to. I like that pressure, but I don’t think I prefer one over the other actually. I think that they’re both— Their own entity kind of feel, like there’s pressure in both of them and there’s a lot of fun in both of them.

Did you feel that working with the script as opposed to kind of having your character point, was it more constricting for you or was it kind of cool to work with?

MICKIE JAMES: It was cool to work with. And plus, obviously, they give you direction and everything, but I was still able to play with the character a little bit and make it my own. I think it’s important that with any character in acting or anything to embrace the character and become the character, but also make it your own because only you know how you would portray that character. The director was really cool, and he worked with me, and I was able to work with it and make it my own enough to where I felt really comfortable being Rita Westwood.

Is there something from wrestling that you take away that helped you with filming Psych, that like prepared you?

MICKIE JAMES: Yes. I think that the getting locked into the character. My character right now on TV is not too much a stretch of who I am in reality, just a girl next door. I grew up in the country, and I enjoy riding my horses, and I’m pretty down-to-earth. But when I first came in, I was portraying this kind of psychotic character, who was like a stalker fan of one of the other divas, Trish Stratus.

So to be able to get locked into that character and to become that character, I think that whole aspect helped me in the acting world, as well as far as getting locked into a character and becoming the character and just feeling it out and doing it and reacting rather than just acting, but actually reacting as that character.

Would you be interested in doing something like this again?

MICKIE JAMES: Absolutely. I would be honored to do something like this again. I had so much fun, and it was really just cool to be involved with them, and everyone was really, really cool, and I just actually had so much fun. I’m definitely hoping to do some more acting in the near future.

Anything particular that you want to do with acting?

MICKIE JAMES: Honestly, I mean I would love to do some more shows or do a movie or anything really. I think that any opportunity is a blessing, so you should embrace it.

Tony Shalhoub‘s quaint Monk, still immensely entertaining after seven seasons, reaches an important milestone tonight at 9pm EST: its 100th episode.

Since the big event also coincides with the detective’s 100th case, the title of the hallmark is simply and appropriately “Mr. Monk’s 100th Case.” [Oddly, however, the official website calls it “Mr. Monk's 100th Episode.” Hmmm…]

But that’s where the simplicity ends because USA has an onslaught of high-profile, memorable guest stars — some of whom have appeared on the series in the past — lined up to help celebrate this momentous occasion.

They include newcomers Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as a reporter and Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives) as Monk’s former babysitter, in addition to repeat guests John Turturro as Monk’s agoraphobic brother Ambrose, Jarrad Paul as Monk’s neighbor Kevin Dorfman, Tim Bagley as Monk’s nemesis Harold Krenshaw, Howie Mandel as former cult leader Ralph Roberts, Sarah Silverman as Monk’s biggest fan Marci Maven, and Shalhoub’s real-life wife Brooke Adams as flight attendant Leigh Harrison.

Then there’s the infamous crooks from crimes solved by the brilliant detective over the seasons: Sharon Lawrence as Stottlemeyer’s ex-girlfriend Linda Fusco, Andy Richter as Hal Tucker, David Koechner as Joey Krenshaw, Ricardo Chavira as Jimmy Belmont, and Angela Kinsey as Arlene Boras.

The only criminal missing is Dale “The Whale” Biederbeck, so maybe all three actors who have played Monk’s archrival — Adam Arkin, Tim Curry, and Ray Porter — were otherwise engaged.

In any case, you know a show rocks when it can lure that many talented thespians to all appear in a single episode of a series that’s not their own, which makes tonight’s Monk the most important must-see hour of television this week. Sorry, 90210.

An event I’ve been waiting for almost all summer has finally arrived, namely the premiere of FX’s latest original series, the bad-boys drama Sons of Anarchy.

The time to tune in to the network is 10pm EST, at which point you’ll get to see Hellboy and Beauty and the Beast star Ron Perlman assume an entirely new and different identity as the brutal president of the California-based Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. How new and different is the character for the actor? Read on to find out.

How did you get started in acting?

RON PERLMAN: I couldn’t make it on the swimming team in high school. In fact, I got thrown off the swimming team and was forced to audition for the school play because they had at the audition about 35 girls show up and no boys.

So my swimming coach suggested that I might be able to do the drama department more good than I was doing the swimming team. Why he had that instinct I don’t know, but the rest is history.

How did you come into this part? Did you audition?

RON PERLMAN: [Series creator] Kurt Sutter asked to have lunch with me and told me that they were interested in exploring the idea of me playing Clay and that I was going to have to audition for the network. And so I did, and here we are.

There’s been some talk about how the superstructure of Sons of Anarchy is Hamlet. That, I suppose, would make you Claudius. Can you conceive of a situation where Clay and Jax [Charlie Hunnam] would face off other than perhaps at the end of the season, when, presumably, Jax finally makes his move? Are they pretty tight or is there a little bit of an adversarial strain underlying their relationship?

RON PERLMAN: Well, I’m only reading it one episode at a time, and I’m just a little bit ahead of you. I have no idea how it’s going to play out. I pretty much have an idea of what is going to happen, particularly in light of the fact that I’m sure they’re going to stick to the structure of Hamlet all the way to the end.

But how it happens and when it happens we’ll have to just see one episode at a time. But, yes, they’re very tight. I mean, there’s a real affection between Clay and Jax, a real affection.

How long has [Jax's father] John been gone? How long have they been a pair?

RON PERLMAN: John, I think, died in ’93. So it’s a while since I think Jax was 15 at the time and he’s 30 now. So it’s 15 years that he’s been without his dad and that Clay and Gemma [Katey Sagal] have taken up the relationship.

With Clay and John both being founders of the club I would think they’d be pretty close friends, so I was curious how Gemma and Clay ended up married.

RON PERLMAN: I don’t have an answer to that. I would suspect that Clay probably felt that John got the prize when he got Gemma and wouldn’t be surprised if Clay maybe always had a secret design on Gemma. I’m not giving you a definitive answer because I just don’t know the answer.

But I’m telling you some of the things that I’m thinking as the actor playing the guy, and I think that knowing what I know about how thorough Kurt Sutter is in answering all these questions we will all find out at pretty much the same time.

What attracted you to this show?

RON PERLMAN: The writing. End of story.

Was there anything in particular about the writing?

RON PERLMAN: It’s incredibly smart, very, very, very vivid, completely ungratuitous for a show that’s as hardcore and violent and explosive and radical behavior. These are not your average conservative Republicans. These guys are ruthless and badass.

And the way it’s depicted is very organic, which you could only do if you’re a brilliant screenwriter, as Kurt Sutter is. And as an actor you know you’re always going to be supported by— You’re never going to be made to look gratuitous or silly because everything is incredibly well supported in a very organic and very brilliant way.

How much research did you do into biker culture?

RON PERLMAN: Not as much as I would have liked. I’m continuing to do research into biker culture. I got kind of thrown into this thing with no prep time. So I just basically dove in with two legs, with two feet, and started playing him and have picked up things.

You know, we have a tech adviser who’s a member of the Oakland Chapter of the Hells Angels named D.L. He’s one of the most famous guys in that club, and he— Whenever I get a break in the action, I sit and chitchat with him.

Charlie’s done time up there, he’s spent serious time up there learning, immersing himself in the subculture, and whenever I have a minute I pick his brain, I learn from him. And I feel as if I have enough of a foundation where I’ve got a pretty strong point of view about where Clay is coming from and what his core values are. But I really would like to learn more because the more I know about them, the more fascinating they become to me.

What was it about Clay Morrow that got you interested in the first place?

RON PERLMAN: To tell you the absolute truth, the first time I read it I wasn’t sure I could play the guy. I’ve never played anybody like him. No matter how sociopathic or psychotic the character was that I was playing, I always saw something in there that made them that way. So that there was always some sort of a duality. Like Hellboy is a badass, but he has this really soft center; he’s got a very strong feminine side.

There was always a duality in all the characters I’ve played, no matter how radical they were. There’s no duality in Clay Morrow. He’s got one gear and it’s win at all costs, and he’s not big on sense of humor. He has no feminine side whatsoever, and I really didn’t know whether I could, whether I had the chops to pull it off. So I said to myself, there seem to be more people on the periphery who thought I could do it than I thought I could do it.

So I figured I’d put my trust and faith in them and use it as a big challenge because the one thing I do love is to be challenged and to be kind of on the tree limb, where one false move either way and you’re toast. I kind of like that. So I took this thing as a challenge, and we’ll see. So far I’m having a good time, I’m exercising different muscles than I’ve ever used before.

Your character in Sons of Anarchy, Clay Morrow, is described as someone who exerts ruthless control over all areas of his life thanks to his struggle with acute arthritis. How easy or difficult is it to portray that aspect of Clay, meaning his need for control as result of certain things in his life he can’t control?

RON PERLMAN: Well, the aspect of him beginning to lose control, the arthritis, it’s not acute yet. It ‘s the onset of arthritis, which is basically the first signal that somebody who always considered himself unbreakable and invulnerable is starting to see the beginnings of cracks in his armor.

So when we meet this guy he’s going through changes, as is Gemma, because she’s now 51 years old. These guys who started out as kids and thought that they had the world figured out are now finding out that there are certain things that there aren’t answers to, and it makes for a very charged situation.

If Sons of Anarchy returns for a second season what do you think viewers can expect from Clay specifically and the show in general?

RON PERLMAN: Aside from the fact that I know we’re sticking to the superstructure of Hamlet, I don’t know anything and I don’t want to know. I mean I’m really, really, so overwhelmed with every time they give me the new script, which is usually about four or five days before we start shooting it. Just at the point where we’re in the midway point of shooting one episode we get the next one. And, for me, it’s so overwhelming to deal with the present that I can’t begin to get caught up in the future.

I mean, if I went to the writers and asked them what’s going to happen in the second season I’m sure they’d tell me. But I really don’t want to know because I don’t want to jump ahead of myself. I don’t think it’s valuable, and that’s just my own personal feeling. If you ask ten different actors that question you’re going to get ten different answers.

I’d rather just concentrate on the right now, and if I have a question about how the history of something or the future of something is going to affect the behavior of what I’m doing right now, then I’ll call the producers and try to get the answer to that question. But other than that, I’m just trying to play it one minute at a time.

Katey Sagal’s character is pretty tough on the show. What’s it like working with her?

RON PERLMAN: She’s a doll. I mean, I just saw the pilot episode. You guys are kind of ahead of me because I haven’t seen the second one at all, and I only just saw the pilot episode the night before last. And it was staggering to me that the baddest ass on the show is Katey. I mean, we’re all trying to play these big swinging dudes who are completely ruthless and fearless, and in watching the first episode, I didn’t realize that she’s the badass of the show.

She even makes me look a little weak, which is a complete dichotomy to how she is in real life. She’s so sweet, she’s a great mom and a beautiful working companion and full of kindness and caring. She’s kind of like a hippie; she’s like how all of us who came through the ’60s turned out — a little left of center, very liberal-minded. And that’s a complete performance she’s giving on the show, but it is complete.

So you prefer to play the bad guy if you can?

RON PERLMAN: I don’t have any preferences. I feel as though my criteria are based more on how challenging the role is. It doesn’t have to fit into any particular profile. Is it something that I’ve never done before, and is it something that I feel like I can really feel challenged and therefore fully engaged in. And that’s when the work gets to be the most fun.

What has been your favorite scene to film so far?

RON PERLMAN: I couldn’t answer that. Every single scene that I’ve done has been, like, I can’t even put into words what a great writer Kurt Sutter is and what an amazing staff he’s assembled because every script is just filled with scenes you can’t wait to do.

The most surprising episode was, I think, the fifth episode. It’s called “AK51,” and it was written by a woman named Nicole Beattie, and it’s basically a script that could only have been written by a woman. And it deals with one of the things I alluded to earlier, the fact that Katey’s body and my body are going through these changes.

And there’s some amazing stuff in there that comes as a surprise to both of us, and the playing of those things was pretty surprising and revealing. I just can’t wait to get to work every day because these scenes are just like hanging fastballs, hanging curveballs, as the pitch is coming in you just lick your lips waiting…

Can you take us through a typical day on the set?

RON PERLMAN: No, because we don’t have any typical days. Every single day is a complete different set of problems. Every single day is not like any other day. You just try to make sure that you’re well nourished and you’ve got enough energy to get through it because they’re very often 14, 15, or 16 hours long and we’re moving at a really quick pace because we’re shooting an episode in seven days, and the workload is overwhelmingly concentrated and focused.

Are there are any of your own personality traits which— Clay Morrow’s which may help you tap into that kind of criminal archetype?

RON PERLMAN: He’s about as far from my own approach to life as anyone I’ve ever played. But having said that, as an actor you’re always using your own facets behaviorally to loan the character his reality, and I can only play Clay as I can access him from my own field of experience.

But he’s really, really, really different from me and, as I said before, a challenge because of that. Because I’ve got to adjust my point of view and my way of processing a situation. I don’t process situations the way he does.

How does the effect of the club being like a family balance with the toughness of the jobs the guys go out and do and everything else on that side of things?

RON PERLMAN: These clubs are a subculture that are unique to themselves, but you can parallel them as every club as its own sovereign nation with its own set of laws and its own earning capacity and its own code of behavior and its own ruthless need to protect its borders and its national interests. And you can take any country in the world and set the same description to it.

So it’s more than a family. But there are certainly family values to each of these clubs because, at the end of the day, they’re there to protect their own, they’re there to support their own, and they’re there to sacrifice themselves for their own family.

What kind of audience do you think Sons of Anarchy will draw?

RON PERLMAN: A big one. I don’t know, I can only hope. I can never second guess what happens when you take a piece of culture and try to funnel it into the mainstream. I’ve been wrong almost every time before, so I’ve stopped guessing. I hope people like it for its uniqueness and for the effort that everybody’s putting in, which is a pretty magnanimous effort.

Did you know anything about bike culture before starting the series, and had you ever been on a bike? Did you know anything about the ins and outs of anything?

RON PERLMAN: I knew zero. I’d see motorcycle clubs whiz by like the rest of us and just consider it to be very loud and an annoyance, and I just thought that these guys were men without a country, just purely rebellious. I never thought about it beyond that. I’d never been on a bike; I don’t have that in my own fun psyche.

So everything I did was kind of filling in a very blank slate, and my eyes got really opened to the sociopolitical aspects of the impulse to start these clubs. And most of the guys who are members of these clubs were veterans, probably most of them fought in wars, in different wars: the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, the current Iraq War.

So they’re warriors to begin with, and they come back to America after the most patriotic of acts, which is the act of self sacrifice for their country, and not only are they not welcomed as heroes, but they’re kind of shunned because their psyche is such that it’s okay for a warrior to go kill and die but it’s not okay for them to come back to the United States and marry your sister.

So it’s kind of like, if you don’t mind a little salty language, f*** me, f*** you. I’m out of here. I’m going to go create my own reality. I’m going to show you what patriotism really looks like, and I’m going to be patriotic to what I consider to be things that are worth living and dying for.

And that’s the impulse behind the motorcycle club, and it’s very, very anarchistic and very sociopolitical. It’s a reaction against something, which turned into a huge disappointment. Those are the things that, when my eyes were really opened as to how compelling these clubs are.

If you could write any scene for Clay or have him do something, what would you choose for him to do?

RON PERLMAN: First of all, I’m not a writer. That’s why I’m an actor is because if I could do anything I wanted I would write, but I don’t have those bones. And second of all, I’m in a situation here where the writing goes so far beyond my limited imagination that it blows my mind every time I read a new script. I’m just happy to be able to portray what they’re giving me. I don’t have anything that could top or add to what I’ve already seen.

What kind of different challenges do you find between working for television as opposed to movies, since you’ve been in a lot of movies?

RON PERLMAN: Well, the approach is the same. The general work is the same. The only difference is with a TV series you go a lot faster, you have to get more stuff done in a day than you do in a movie because the constraints of the schedule are really austere.

So it’s speed, and it’s concentration and focus because it’s relentless. I mean, you finish one episode at midnight on a Tuesday and then on Wednesday morning at seven you’re in the makeup chair getting ready to start the next one without having a chance to take a breath in between. So that’s basically the difference. But fundamentally you approach the work the same way.

Were you surprised at the level of violence in the show?

RON PERLMAN: Well, I’m not surprised by the level of violence in the show. I knew these were pretty ruthless, rough guys. But there are certain things that we’re doing that shock even me, and I thought I was shockproof. It’s pretty hardcore.

I mean, you start getting to the third episode, the fourth episode, the fifth episode. I mean, we do stuff that is like— I finished reading it and I was just like, I’ve got to lie down. It’s definitely— The envelope is being breached.

It’s time for more paranormal shenanigans when Sci Fi Channel’s popular reality staple Ghost Hunters returns tonight at 9pm EST for its fourth season, followed at 10pm by the relative newcomer Destination Truth, which launches its second season.

I had the opportunity to sneak a peek at the premieres for both series, and I’m happy to report that fans of each show can look forward to more of the familiar perplexing investigations audiences have grown to expect.

Ghost Hunters begins the night with a visit to Buffalo, New York’s Iron Island Museum. It looks just like a too-big house to me, but the structure is actually a converted church where the dead and departed seem determined to remain. Head investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson arrive on the scene with their trusted TAP team and van-load of equipment for another one of those nighttime stakeout sessions. Afterwards, they give their client a thorough account of their intriguing discoveries, so get ready for some very disconcerting audio material.

Next, so-called truth-seeker Josh Gates does a similar routine with his own team of investigators and equipment, but with a much more exotic flair. They first travel to gorgeous Queensland, Australia — a vacation in itself — in search of Yowie, probably more familiar to many people as the one and only legendary Bigfoot. Just saying the name makes me laugh out loud and think, “Aw c’mon! Get real!” But investigate they do, with earnestness.

Then, Team Gates is off to even more exotic Malaysia to get the inside goods on an abandoned mosque that reportedly houses an evil spirit. How do we know the place is haunted? Well, the spirit has a penchant for doing eerie things like turning lights on, although the building has no electricity.

I admit that would freak me out a bit, too, and if nothing else, I’ll always envy people who get to visit places like Australia and Malaysia during their myth-busting adventures. How do I get a paying job like that?

Ghost Hunters‘ “Iron Island” premieres at 9pm, followed by Destination Truth‘s “Yowie/Haunted Mosque” at 10pm.

It doesn’t matter how much you love him or hate him, Walton Goggins‘ Detective Shane Vendrell is clearly one of the most disturbing cops in the history of television. So, when The Shield kicks off its seventh and final season at 10pm EST tonight on FX, there’s no doubt both the actor and his character will remain at the forefront of the gritty drama’s action.

Goggins took some much-appreciated time last week to speak with a group of us online TV writers about his past, present, and future experiences on The Shield and in showbiz in general. Read on to learn what the native Southerner had to say during the lively discussion.

How did you get started in acting in the first place?

WALTON GOGGINS: Wow, how did I get started in acting in the first place? I was a kid with a pretty colorful kind of background, raised by a bunch of crazy southern women, and my aunt and uncle were both in the theater. I grew up seeing them perform on stage, and I thought I would go into a career of politics or law; I kind of got bitten by that acting bug, kind of watching these guys on the stage.

I went in at the age of 14 years old, not having really any formal training whatsoever and not doing any theater in high school. I’m from Atlanta, that’s where I was born and raised. I went into the local casting director’s office and said, “I have a lot of emotions. I’m a young kid, and I want to get these emotions out in a constructive way, so I think I need to become and actor, and I need you to help me do that.”

She smiled and was kind enough to entertain my hopes and dreams; and I started studying shortly thereafter, and booked my first job, which was a movie called Murder in Mississippi, at the age of 15 back in Atlanta when they were doing quite a few movies in the southeast. I then moved to Los Angeles three years later and started studying in earnest. That was kind of my trajectory. I don’t think there was another option for me, really.

What was your reaction when you found out that not only was Lem going to die, but that you were the one who was going to kill him?

WALTON GOGGINS: Kenny [Johnson] is one of my best friends and has been. We did a movie together almost ten years ago and were roommates on that movie. He has been a dear friend for a long time. When I found out that he was going to leave the show, I was devastated. Everybody was devastated. Really, we took it pretty hard. This was a guy that I hang out with every single day.

When I found out that I was going to be the one taking him out, I was very conflicted about it for about a minute, and then I thought, “No, if anybody is going to take out this beautiful character that Kenny Johnson created, I would want it to be me.” I’d want to be there with my buddy to say goodbye to him.

It was very cathartic for both of us. We had spent the weekend together before we shot that scene and to come back and honor his commitment to the show and what he brought to it. A long-winded answer to your question, I was ultimately elated and felt very honored to have been given that opportunity to go through that dance with Kenny.

And, just real quick, from a story standpoint, man, it made sense. Shawn [series creator Shawn Ryan] was right. No one else could have done that but Shane Vendrell. It wouldn’t have had the impact. No one else could have died but Lemonhead. It just would have not have had the impact if it was two different people. I think that he got it right, anyway.

How has it been doing the show that last couple years as sort of the strike team outsider? How did that dynamic change when your character now is sort of almost a villain?

WALTON GOGGINS: Yes, it’s true. I have a hard time with villain. Honestly, Lord knows we’ve all done really bad things, but there was such providential camaraderie when this show first started. In the first two seasons were these guys having fun, doing some crazy stuff and having fun. The friendship started fracturing really at the end of Season Three, and the paradigm had kind of shifted as far as a strike team was concerned.

For the last two years, me being out on a limb, it was difficult, man, because I’m not seeing everybody every day. I’m not seeing Michael [Chiklis] every day. I’m kind of doing my own thing. On the other side of that, I had an opportunity to really explore this character and let him grow on his own without three other people in the room. I think for the character, it was crucial in his development. It’s kind of bittersweet, but I’m happy that I had the opportunity to do it.

With your character really going from being a major player on the show to being really the focus of the whole second half of the season, how has it been for you to go from being part of this team player to just really the whole season, everything after Episode Eight looks like it’s really about you? How has that been?

WALTON GOGGINS: That’s a very nice thing to say. I do believe that this is a true ensemble, for sure, and we have a deep bench. You could throw the ball to any one of these players. God knows, to be involved with the show is enough, and then to be thrown that ball in the fourth quarter is a big deal in the second half, man.

I think what you guys are going to see, and there are many threads in this story, but the thread of this friendship between Vic Mackey and Shane Vendrell and the disintegration of that friendship and what it has done to these two men that were inexorably tied to the original sin of the this show; and that has been there from the beginning.

I think that’s one thing that you’re going to get to see from Episode Nine going forward. To be in the center of that storm, what greater honor could a person have? Honestly, I just believe in this show so much, and I’m very thankful and humbled by this opportunity — full of gratitude, honestly.

Your character’s had an arc that has really run from the beginning of the show to the end of the show. How has that been to play it, really a full story of one character?

WALTON GOGGINS: You’re right. It’s a very good point. I never knew it, because we never knew what was going to happen. I knew by being with Vic Mackey, by Shane being with Vic Mackey, and killing Terry [Reed Diamond] in Episode One, that the ramifications of that violent act would reverberate, hopefully throughout the whole show, unless I got killed, man.

I never knew from episode to episode if I was going to take a bullet. Honestly, there was one episode in particular where I did take a bullet, and I just went, “Oh, my God.” Then I read the next page, but I had my bulletproof vest on. “Thank you, God. Thank you, God.”

To answer your question, I never knew what was going to happen, and it was only during the middle of last season when Shane had the opportunity to tell Mara [Michele Hicks] what he did, and then the subsequent conservation that he had with Vic, that this whole journey really started making sense for me from the beginning. I was able to kind of calibrate it going forward based on five years of prior history.

I think that the ending of this show and my participation in that is so befitting of this seven-year journey that I have been on as Shane. I think that it will be an exclamation point that will be satisfying for everybody.

As far as you’ve mentioned, reading the script, you read scenes like you get shot and you realize you had a bulletproof vest on, have you found any of your most surprising moments, other than that, while reading the script wondering what’s going to happen next?

WALTON GOGGINS: Every single episode, really. It’s every single episode. The way that the fans of this show watch episodes, and they’re like, “Oh, damn it, man, I don’t want to wait seven days to the next episode.”

Believe it or not, every actor on this show feels that way when they read the script. They are like, “Man, are you kidding me. You’re not going to tell me what happens next week.” It’s like watching the show. It takes an hour to read it, right. Pretty much every script, there is some revelation that is an OMG moment.

How do you think Shane’s going to turn out at the end? Is he going to get taken out by the Armenian mob or Vic?

WALTON GOGGINS: You know I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you this — we have been, both Michael and I, and Kenny, for that matter, have been talking about the possible ending of this show since Episode Two. I can assure you of that. And everything, every year that we have imagined, does not happen in the ending of this show.

It far exceeded anything that we could have thought up ourselves. Regardless of what happens at the ending of this show, I think for the fans of this show, the audience of this show, they want to know will the guys ultimately reap what they’ve sown. I guess there are varying opinions of what that penalty should be.

For me, in my opinion, yes, I think that these guys get their comeuppance, for sure. It’s riveting, man. It really is something so far outside of my own imagination. I’ve been thinking about this for seven years, and I think that Shawn honored the audience’s commitment to seven years of watching this show. I think that he ended it the way that he began it, from the heart and from a place of passion. I’m excited for you guys to see it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I hope not.

Michael’s directing the fifth episode of the seventh season. You guys have a good chemistry on screen. What’s he like to be directed by?

WALTON GOGGINS: Yes. You know, he directed my second biggest scene, I guess. On Season Six he directed Episode Five. Having worked on camera with him for so long, I trust him. I know how talented an actor he is. I trust his instincts and his visual instincts as well, just the blocking of a scene, and what makes sense from a directorial standpoint. It was a pleasure. I think that Michael is actually going to have a very long directing career. I think that that transition for him, if he chooses to do it, will be seamless. I really do.

Do we get any closure into Tavon [Brian J. White]? Does he come back this season?

WALTON GOGGINS: I’m not at liberty to say, and that could either mean yes or no, honestly. I don’t want to ruin it for you.

I see you have Laurie Holden in for the season as well. Can you tell us a little bit about her character and what kind of dynamics she brings?

WALTON GOGGINS: She is a beautiful woman, a very talented actor, which is always a good thing around a show that is full of testosterone. I’m sure CCH [Pounder] and Catherine Dent would appreciate the help.

Yes, she comes in, and I didn’t have a lot to do with her. Most of her stuff is with Michael. She just brings her integrity as an actor and her storyline is one that is an integral part of this last season, and what plays out with Erin Molus and Vic Mackey. She is a big, big part, and it was a coup to get her.

What’s been your favorite scene to film so far?

WALTON GOGGINS: It was crossing the border, the Tijuana border, back into the United States. That border crossing and in that same episode, which was the first episode of Season Two, when we abduct the guy in Tijuana, and it’s me and Kenny and Michael walking down the street in Mexico, and Dave Snow, Ronny, peals around the corner and we throw this guy in there.

For me, as an actor, with these guys, when at least in our minds, we thought we were the baddest guys on television. It was so much fun. We just laughed and had the best day, and we did all of that in a day and a half. Those two scenes were the funniest or the most fun, rather, that I’ve had working on the show.

There have been so many. It’s hard; it’s like saying, “What’s your favorite band? And What’s your favorite song?” There are so many, but those two just standout as we laughed a lot and had a really good time.

What about the other end? Has there been one scene that was really hard to film that you least liked?

WALTON GOGGINS: When you say hard to film, yes. Emotional scenes, they require a lot of energy, and they require, if you are doing your job, then it requires an actor to go to a very dark place. That’s not a nice place to visit. If you can imagine; I say this to my friends who don’t really understand what it is that an actor goes through, and I say “If you’ve ever had an argument with your girlfriend or with a friend that lasts for ten minutes, you’re tired after that.” Imagine kind of sustaining that emotion for twelve hours.

It wasn’t that they weren’t enjoyable, because that’s why I’m in this business is to experience a plethora of emotions, but when you wake up at the beginning of the day, you know it’s going to be a long day. I say all of that to contextualize killing Lem. The number of emotional scenes that I’ve had the great honor of playing with Michael. When Vic Mackey lifts the gun up, that was tough.

Did you find moments like that, when you looked in the gun or anything else, that your own emotions or other actors in the scenes have changed a bit because of how you personally feel about the person? [In other words], have you felt like anything you guys have acted out, have your own personal relationships played in at all, and the writers have said we need to redo that because it’s not quite right?

WALTON GOGGINS: You know what, no, nothing like that has ever happened. It is what it is. These are characters that we are playing; and it’s just a story that we’re involved in. So, no, never anything personal.

I will say I think it was probably my own baggage after killing Lem and showing up for the next season the very first day, I felt kind of a chill from everybody, including the crew. But I think it was me being self-conscious because I had spent the previous two months having my life threatened, kind of walking down the street, for taking out such a lovable character. That’s really the only thing along those lines.

Now that the final season of The Shield is here, looking back over the years, how do you feel about your character, Shane, personally? I mean, even if you don’t agree with some of his past actions and choices, is he the kind of person you want to hang out with or consider a friend?

WALTON GOGGINS: I think any actor that has spent seven years with a character feels protective of that character. Is it somebody that I would hang out with? Me, Walton, hang out with. No. The answer to that question would be no, I wouldn’t. How I feel about him?

It was really sad the last day of filming. Not just because the show was ending. Not just because I’m not going to get an opportunity to see all these people every day. I still see the actors and talk to the writers quite a bit and the crew quite a bit. But, I’ll never get to play Shane Vendrell again.

For me, it almost broke my heart when that happened because I love him very much, not from a friend standpoint. I just want to hug him. I just want to go up to him and just kind of hug him and whisper in his ear, “Buddy, you’re okay. You’ll be okay. If you can start from here and try to live your life differently, you’ll be okay.”

There has been this kind of father-son figure relationship between myself as Walton and Shane. That answers your question. It’s true. It’s honest.

I’m sure you are going to probably miss Shane when this thing is finally over. I’m just curious, would you be looking to go back into another cop procedural program or do you want to do something different, like maybe medicine or something?

WALTON GOGGINS: It’s a great question, man. Television is a great gig. It’s a great gig from a security standpoint and from getting to exercise your muscle every day. Honestly, it’s the repetition. It’s getting in front of that camera and exercising your muscle every day that is your ability to tell stories. That’s such an honor to be able to do that, to be given that opportunity.

That being said, I don’t want to play a police officer anymore. I played one, and I want to honor Shane Vendrell by not doing that again for a while, anyway. Going back into television, I’ve really thought about it. I’ve read some stuff, and had some meetings with people on different shows, and my partner and I, we have a production company, and my partner wrote a pilot for me to star in. We just sold it actually.

I can’t really give out any more information than that. There will be a release here pretty soon. This is a character that I would— It’s the role of a lifetime, as Shane Vendrell was the role of a lifetime. If we’re given the opportunity to tell this story, it’ll be two characters back to back that will be watershed moments in my life. We’ll see.

I don’t know what the future holds, man. I know Spike Lee’s movie’s [Miracle at St. Anna] coming out soon; and we just did another movie ourselves. We produced another movie for a filmmaker. We’ve got Hal Holbrook and a slew of really good actors in it, and I like being on that side of the camera. I want to start directing. I don’t know what the future holds.

And the Fall 2008 season gets underway, thanks to early starters Fox and The CW…

Monday | September 1

Gossip Girl: Season Two begins in the Hamptons. [8pm EST/The CW]

Prison Break: Season Four begins with a two-hour, double-episode premiere. I thought two seasons was enough, so maybe I missed something when I stopped watching near the beginning of Season Three. [8pm EST/Fox]

One Tree Hill: Season Six begins for yet another show I can’t believe is still on the tube. [9pm EST/The CW]

The Middleman: The freshman run of ABC Family’s latest winning series ends. If we’re lucky, a second season will be announced soon. [10pm EST/ABC Family]

Raising the Bar: Basic cable’s latest original series, a legal drama from ten-time Emmy winner Steven Bochco (NYPD Blue, L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, Doogie Howser, M.D.), premieres with a top-notch cast that includes Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue), Gloria Reuben (ER), and J. August Richards (Angel). [10pm EST/TNT]

Republican National Convention: Last week it was the Democrats, now it’s the Republicans. Politics gets four more nights of primetime screen time, starting tonight. [10pm EST/ABC, CBS, NBC]

Tuesday | September 2

90210: The much-hyped Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff premieres with a two-hour double episode. [8pm EST/The CW]

The Shield: The seventh and final season, sure to stun and amaze, opens. [10pm EST/FX]

Wednesday | September 3

America’s Next Top Model: Season Eleven begins with the week’s gazillionth two-hour premiere. [8pm EST/The CW]

Bones: Ditto, but this time it’s Season Four, set in lovely London. [8pm EST/Fox]

Ghost Hunters: Season Four opens. [9pm EST/Sci Fi Channel]

Sons of Anarchy: FX’s latest original drama, about a tough motorcycle club based in California, premieres. [10pm EST/FX]

Top Design: Season Two starts with a 75-minute episode. [10pm EST/Bravo]

Thursday | September 4

Sunday Night Football: The 22nd season opens on a Thursday with a matchup between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. [7pm EST/NBC]

Kitchen Nightmares: Season Two begins, and, yes, the premiere is two hours. What else? [8pm EST/Fox]

The Gong Show with Dave Attell: The first season ends. [10pm EST/Comedy Central]

Friday | September 5

Stand Up to Cancer: An NBC special featuring an army of celebrities who support cancer research, including recent cancer survivor Christina Applegate. [8pm EST/NBC]

Samurai Girl: The six-part mini-series begins and will continue over three consecutive nights at the same time. [8pm EST/ABC Family]

CBS Fall Preview: Here’s what’s coming up this season on the Eye Network. [9pm EST/CBS]

Monk: Tony Shalhoub & Company air their 100th episode. The hallmark couldn’t happen for a more deserving show. [9pm EST/USA]

Swingtown: The first — and only? — season ends. [10pm EST/CBS]

Saturday | September 6

Cops: Season 21 opens. [8pm EST/Fox]

U.S. Open 2008 Tennis: The last two women remaining play for the title. [8pm EST/CBS]

America’s Most Wanted: Season 22 begins. [9pm EST/Fox]

Sunday | September 7

U.S. Open 2008 Tennis: The last two men remaining play for the title. [4pm EST/CBS]

Football Night in America: Season Three starts. [8pm EST/NBC]

America United: In Support of Our Troops: A two-hour special featuring celebrities performing to honor U.S. troops. [9pm EST/ABC]

2008 MTV Video Music Awards: The title says it all. [9pm EST/MTV]

True Blood: HBO’s new Southern-fried vampire drama premieres with Oscar winner Anna Paquin starring as the interestingly named Sookie Stackhouse. [9pm EST/HBO]

Entourage: The boys are back for Season Five. [10pm EST/HBO]