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In news, TNT has given the green light to three new shows. In cool, relevant news, one of those shows is Untitled Alien Invasion Series, a concept co-created and produced by Steven Spielberg. I'm going to go ahead and assume the title will change in the near future.

The mammoth TNT press release (which I read at AICN) describes the series thusly: "The series opens shortly after aliens have wiped out most of the human population. The aliens are now rounding up the few people left, but they are met with strong resistance from a group of soldiers and civilians who fight for their survival all while struggling to maintain their humanity." Shades of War of the Worlds, pieces of V, maybe a little Battlestar Galactica...certainly not the most original science fiction concept out there, but it's definitely a premise that could support an ongoing series if the writing is up to snuff.

The pilot was written by Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) and the series stars Noah Wyle as "The Reluctant Leader," Moon Bloodgood as "The Unrealistically Attractive Therapist," Jessy Schram as "The Unrealistically Attractive Motorcycle Scout" and Seychelle Gabriel as "The Orphan, Whom We Can Presume Has a Heart of Gold."

Spielberg's TV ventures have varied in the past, ranging from "Oh My God, What An Achievement!" (Band of Brothers), to "Really? This Is Something You Had Faith In?" (The United States of Tara, On the Lot) to "Okay, Steve, You've Had the Rights For Several Decades Now, Can You Please Get it Made?" (Stephen King's The Talisman).

Snark and kidding aside, I'm completely game for a new alien invasion series after the failure that was the new V. Similarly to Push hitting the small screen, television may be the ideal place to examine the concept of an alien invasion in a way we haven't seen before. Not to mention, I need something new to watch when Lost ends this year.

Three episodes in, and V is finally starting to show promise. Where the first two episodes force-fed the story without any real opportunity to savor it, or connect with the characters, "A Bright New Day" takes more of a tease approach, with a little less rush to tell the audience everything.

The episode recap: The FBI has to investigate a death threat at the Peace Center as the Visitors get visas, leading Erica to discover surveillance technology. The Cindy Sheehan-esque "voice of the anti-V movement," gets Anna's attention. Tyler and Lisa get closer, and Lisa picks Tyler for an undetermined purpose. Ryan seeks out other sleeper fifth columnists, as Dale recovers on the New York mothership, and Father Jack seeks other survivors from the warehouse.

There's still a lot taken for granted in V, but there are moments worth watching. Morena Baccarin, best known for her serenely gorgeous Inara on Firefly is serenely psychopathic as Anna. Even with the flaws of the series, she's still watchable. But Elizabeth Mitchell's Erica has the best scene in the episode, where she figures out just how some surveillance images occur. It's refreshing to see a character actively thinking and making a discovery.

Will AMC's new take on The Prisoner be any good? I'm not sure what to think. I like the cast, and the sleek trailer makes it look like a decent thriller, but will it deliver on multiple levels the way Patrick McGoohan's 1960s classic did? We'll find out when it premieres this Sunday. And don't forget to tune in to IFC on Friday night to catch a few episodes of the original.

This week also brings a new take on the Wonder Twins (Smallville), more lizard skinned bad guys (V), a time travel tale (Stargate Universe) and more. Read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes, "Shadowboxing" – Sylar continues to play head games with Parkman, leading to a roadside murder. Claire and HRG battle Claire's evil sorority sister, and it looks like Peter is becoming addicted to his superpowers, a story idea that doesn't sound at all tiresome. Last week was fun, but this week looks like a messy one for Heroes. (Monday, 8 p.m. on NBC.)

Head after the jump for more picks and preview videos.

Never underestimate the appeal of a good alien invasion yarn. Last night's premiere of ABC's V remake scored a whopping 13.9 million viewers and a 5.0 preliminary rating for adults 18-49. That's good enough to make it the top rated new series premiere of the fall, even besting that seemingly unstoppable NCIS spinoff. It looks like ABC might be rethinking its decision to split V into four episode blocks aired three months apart – I know I would.

V gave ABC its best Tuesday night premiere since 2003, and the highest debut for any network since 2005 among the 18-49 demo. Plus, the series had the best demo rating for an 8 p.m. premiere since Lost kicked off in 2004.

This is an amazing start for a promising – if not perfect – new take on a classic sci-fi franchise. Let's just hope the Heroes syndrome doesn't set in here anytime soon.

[Via: The Live Feed]

I'm starting off the week with a sore throat and a pounding headache (yay for me!) but at least there's a new episode of Fringe to look forward to this Thursday. Plus, Heroes takes us back to season one, and ABC finally debuts its brand new take on V starring Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell and Firefly's Morena Baccarin.

Catch the first nine minutes of V below, and read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes – "Once Upon a Time in Texas" – Heroes takes us back to the good ol' days – season one to be exact – when Hiro travels back in time to visit his dearly departed gal pal Charlie (Jayma Mays). But can he save her from Sylar's death grip this time? Hiro himself, Masi Oka, has compared "Once Upon a Time" to the incredible season one ep "Company Man." Could it really be that good? (Monday, 8 p.m. on NBC.)

More TV picks and previews after the jump.

Call me a cynic, but I find this whole story highly suspect. Kenneth Johnson created, among other vintage hits like "The Bionic Woman", "The Incredible Hulk" and "Alien Nation", the original 1983 "V" mini-series about visitors from beyond the stars who integrate themselves into our world. Despite being the show's parent, Johnson did not retain the television rights to his series, which is why he has absolutely nothing to do with the ABC remake that will be making its debut on November 3rd, save for a "created by" credit.

However, Johnson does own the film rights to the "V" story, and according to Variety he is actively trying to create a theatrical version to compete against ABC's new offering. Now here is where my cynicism kicks in. Johnson tells Variety that, "If the show succeeds, it gives us an opportunity to go out with a one sheet that says, 'You like the show, now see the original classic reborn.' And if the show doesn't do well, we can always say, 'Here is the "V" you've been waiting for.' "

I admire his optimism, but both of those scenarios are hugely hypothetical to me. First off, sci-fi on TV has a woefully high infant mortality rate, so I'll be amazed if "V" is not only popular, but popular enough to entertain the grandiose fantasy of turning it into a summer blockbuster. And if it doesn't, I find it an even harder stretch to imagine that anyone would want to watch yet another attempt at the already-familiar material in a year's time; particularly so considering the amount of money and interest Johnson claims Hollywood already has for the in-theory film project:

Fox is putting Dollhouse on the shelf until December, when Summer Glau joins the show, and we'll have to wait another week for a new episode of Fringe, but I'm looking forward to seeing some new faces on Smallville and FlashForward this week. Plus, Syfy has a marathon of the original V miniseries this weekend. Read on for this week's TV picks and previews.

Heroes, "Strange Attractors" – Poor, poor Matt Parkman. It's bad enough that Sylar is living inside his head and driving him batty. Now Sylar is taking over Parkman's body and sleeping with his wife! I wouldn't be surprised if Greg Grunberg is the cast member rumored to be leaving the show, because now seems like a good time for the miserable Parkman to finally off himself. This week's episode also takes us back to Claire's creepy sorority, plus HRG and Nikki team up to help Jeremy, the healer we met last week. (Monday, 8 p.m. ET on NBC.)

More TV picks and preview videos after the jump.

If, like me, you're still looking for a character-driven sci-fi drama (with trace amounts of nostalgia) to fill the void left by Battlestar Galactica, then you're probably already curious about ABC's remake of the 80's TV phenomenon V. ABC released the first eight minutes of the new alien invasion show online (watch it here) to attract a new audience to this updated version of an old fan favorite, before it makes its broadcast debut on November 3rd.

It's obviously impossible to judge an entire series from this short clip, but the "Where were you on 9/11?" opening text rubs me the wrong way. I'm not offended that the scenes of New Yorkers frightened by a massive threat in the sky conjure up subtext about 9/11. I'm offended that the subtext is made, well, actual text. That pretty much makes it NOT subtext, by definition. That type of narrative hand-holding (as if they are shouting, "HEY DOESN'T THIS KINDA REMIND YOU OF 9/11?") is offensive to me, because it's a moronic way of reminding viewers of something that they'll be able to pick up on their own.