FOX's Alcatraz has been giving audiences a lot to talk about. I recently caught up with Jeffrey Pierce, the actor behind returned prisoner Jack Sylvane, to get the dish on playing the show's first antagonist - and to shed a little light on his own backstory.

There's a saying that the people who play the best villains are usually some of the nicest people in real life, and in Pierce's case, that's true. His alter-ego might have done some bad things, but the actor is a warm, sociable person who was happy to talk to me about his character, his career, and what he enjoys as a TV viewer.

Wha...

Science fiction has taken somewhat of an upward turn in recent years, becoming attractive to more than the small cultish fan groups and growing to the universal mainstream.

With the success of shows like "Lost," "Fringe," "Heroes," "Battlestar Galactica" and "X-Files," sci-fi is steadily becoming worth investing in by the bigger networks.

Starting in the fall, ABC is releasing two new big sci-fi shows to the mainstream to see if we have a taste for it, and if you're any kind of sci-fi fan at all, these are the new shows you should be looking forward to.

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Although an exact da...

Sometimes an actor comes along who just has a certain something that makes you want to stop and watch. He may just be in the background - where the job, really, is to be natural but not cause any attention to themselves or take away from the action in the forefront of the scene - but his magnetism may be enough to draw the eye over and back, making the viewer want to know more about the character he is supposed to be playing.

Chances are, however, if audiences are noticing this guy so are producers and casting directors, and soon he may be rewarded with a few lines here and there, bum...

Life after "Everwood" has been kind to some actors who have had no problem finding work. Canceled before its time in 2006 after just four seasons, most of the actors have moved on to other projects (some more than others):

Treat Williams (Andrew Brown)

Treat appeared in several episodes of "Brothers & Sisters" and starred in the short-lived "Heartland." He also appeared in "What Happens in Vegas..." He's starring in the 2009 film "Jakes' Run."

-Treat Williams Pictures

Gregory Smith (Ephram Brown)

Gregory has appeared in a few films, including "Clos...

What makes a TV show great? Is it the number of viewers or awards it has received? Not necessarily. In its last season, less than 3 million people tuned in to an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but it is unarguably one of the best sci-fi/fantasy shows of all time. In seven seasons, the show won just one Emmy - in 1998 for outstanding makeup. Guess what other fan favorite won just one Emmy (also for outstanding makeup)? Gilmore Girls.

Despite both series' original and witty screenwriting, they never received the props they deserved. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Lauren Graham bo...

Time could be running out for the title character in "Eli Stone." With the date of his possibly fatal operation rapidly approaching, one might think that Eli (Jonny Lee Miller) would be a little preoccupied and thus not able to carry on with his normal, world-saving duties. Luckily for the citizens of San Francisco, that is not the case. For no sooner does Eli leave the doctor's office then he gets hit with a fairly terrifying vision.

Earthquake: Part II

The vision finds Eli in the back seat of a car being driven over the Golden Gate Bridge. From a radio announcement, he de...

ABC has put The Nine on hiatus, but it will return later in the season, according to TV Guide. Last Wednesday, the show lost 3.4 million viewers with only 4.1 million tuning in. It has been pulled from the network's lineup, and this week "20/20" will take its place.

CBS, ABC and NBC just announced their schedules for November sweeps. During "sweeps," Nielsen Media Research sends out diaries to sample homes across the country so TV viewers can record the shows they watched. Based on these results, networks set their advertising rates. The more people watch a show, the more they can charge for the commercials during it.

CBS's November sweeps highlights:

Thursday, Nov. 2 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT)

SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS -- The eighth castaway is voted off. Jeff Probst hosts.

Thursday, Nov. 2 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT)

CSI --When two young boys...

ABC's Help Me Help You, The Nine and Men in Trees and NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip have received orders for additional scripts, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The ABC shows have been picked up for four more scripts, while "Studio 60" has been given an order for three.

So far this year, only five freshman series -- NBC's Heroes, CBS' Jericho and "Shark," and ABC's Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters -- have been given full-season orders.

Lost - awarded the 2005 Emmy and 2006 Golden Globe for best drama series - is back for a third season of action-packed mystery and adventure that will continue to bring out the very best and the very worst in the people who are lost. The season premiere airs tonight (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET), on ABC.

After Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, its survivors were forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discovered that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strang...

Following its October 4 premiere on ABC, episodes of The Nine will be available on ABC.com's ad-supported broadband player for approximately four weeks. In addition, consumers can purchase episodes the day after broadcast on a variety of digital download platforms.

"The Nine" is a complex character drama series that will unravel the mystery of what transpired during a 52-hour hostage situation in chronological flashbacks that open each episode. But the heart of the series is how that harrowing experience impacted the key characters in their present day lives as they continue to intert...

The TV season launches early this year when FOX kicks off season two of Prison Break in the tail end of August. The network is digging its heels in early with several August premieres, including Bones, House and a handful of new series. ABC, CBS, NBC and the new CW get in the game by mid-September.

A complete list of premiere dates follows:

Monday, Aug. 21

8 pm Prison Break (Fox)

9 pm Vanished (Fox)

Wednesday, Aug. 30

8 pm Bones (Fox)

9 pm Justice (Fox)

Tuesday, Sept. 5

8 pm Standoff (Fox)

9 pm House (Fox)

Thursday, Sept. 7

8 pm 'Til Death (Fox)

8:3...

ABC just announced its fall premiere dates. For the fall launch, ABC will be using the strength of its returning hits as a launching pad for new series. Kicking off the new season is Dancing with the Stars. The dates are as follows:

Friday, September 8

9:00-11:00 p.m. 20/20

Tuesday, September 12

8:00-10:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars

Wednesday, September 13

8:00-9:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars Results Show

Monday, September 18

8:00-9:00 p.m. Wife Swap

Thursday, September 21

9:00-10:00 p.m. Grey's Anatomy

10:00-11:00 p.m. Six Degrees

Friday, Septem...

According to the NAACP, with the cancellation of the Bernie Mac Show, for the first time in recent history, there is not a comedy with an African-American lead character left on the big four networks. When it comes to returning sitcoms and the announced new comedies, African Americans are missing in action.

While the genre is not as popular as it once was, there is not a shortage of sitcoms on the schedule. Out of the nearly 20 sitcoms on network television this fall, it is unconscionable that there is not an African American lead among them.

When you take into account the recent...