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When my initial review of 'Game of Thrones,' which was decidedly mixed, appeared online, one of the responses I saw on the Internet amused and mildly irritated me. Some of the grumbling amounted to, "But what does she know -- she liked 'Spartacus'!"

It amused me because, as most critics do, I judge each show independently and on its own merits; if, by law, I am required to review expensive HBO series favorably and basic-cable shows unfavorably, well, I didn't get that memo. And I'm fully willing to admit (as are most of people who make 'Spartacus') that the first couple of episodes of that show aren't good. But if you watched the Starz show until at least the midpoint of the first season, it became a gripping saga that worked as an action-adventure story, a soapy melodrama and a well-constructed, emotionally compelling drama.

And hey, guess what? George R.R. Martin, the man who created the books on which HBO's 'Game of Thrones' is based, is also a fan of 'Spartacus'! I would say "Nyah nyah" or "Oh snap!" at this point, but I'm far too mature and evolved to do something like that. Much.

In any event, Martin and I talked about much more that our mutual affinity for the gladiator drama in Part 2 of our interview (Part 1 is here, by the way). We discussed magic, "comfort fiction" and his approach to the next book in his 'Song of Ice and Fire' series, among other things.

I'm on vacation this week and next, but thanks to the magic of technology, I've pre-posted a two-part interview with George R.R. Martin, the man behind the books that are being adapted into HBO's 'Game of Thrones' series. Martin and I conversed at Comic-Con, and I've edited and slightly condensed that chat into two main parts.

Martin not only created the 'Song of Ice and Fire' book series on which the HBO drama is based ('A Game of Thrones' is the first book of that series, and the fifth tome, 'A Dance with Dragons,' is the most recent), he was also a co-executive producer on the first season of the show, all of which gives him a special perspective on all things 'GoT,' which just won Best New Drama at the Television Critics Awards.

In Part 1 of the interview, Martin talks about the various subsections of his fandom, responses to the TV adaptation by HBO and "sexposition," a word that was invented by critic Myles McNutt during the first season of 'GoT.'

Sunday marked the end of my 18-day stint in California, and after almost three weeks spent covering Comic-Con and the Television Critics Association press tour, I'm barely able to form complete sentences, let alone formulate a theory about the Future of Television.

Yet it seems to me that the television, especially in the cable realm, is at something of a crossroads. Formulaic fare such as 'Rizzoli and Isles' and splashy genre shows like 'True Blood' and 'The Walking Dead' have been big hits, and, after the cancellation of shows like 'Terriers' and 'Men of a Certain Age' and the end of 'Friday Night Lights,' it's hard not to wonder whether the golden age of character-driven drama is losing some of its luster. (Speaking of 'Terriers,' I'll get to a bit of news about the creator of that show in a bit.)

I defer to no one in my geek devotion (I managed to turn an interview with 'Terra Nova' executive producer Rene Echavarria into a discussion of a show he worked on ages ago, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'). But at times lately, I have feared that during the next few years, we are in for an interminable deluge of predictable doctor-lawyer-cop fare and shows featuring wall-to-wall vampires, zombies, aliens and spectral apparations.

The Television Critics Association gave out its annual TCA Awards Saturday night, and 'Mad Men,' 'Game of Thrones' and 'Modern Family' were among the winners.

'Friday Night Lights' was named Program of the Year, and several of the show's actors stood on the stage with executive producer Jason Katims as he gave a heartfelt speech about how hard it was to let the show go after five seasons.

'Game of Thrones' was named Outstanding New Program, 'Mad Men' won as Outstanding Drama and for the second year in a row, 'Modern Family' won as Outstanding Comedy.

The full list of winners, plus five awesome things that happened during the ceremony, is below.

I'm a bit behind in posting updates about the last two podcasts, but we've got packed edition of Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan this week.

In this week's podcast, Ryan McGee and I talk about TNT's 'Falling Skies,' which has its season finale Sunday, 'Torchwood,' which hits the midpoint of its Starz season tonight, and 'The Hour,' an interesting new drama that arrives on BBC America Aug. 17. I am not sure if I'll get a chance to write a full review of 'The Hour' this month, so if you're interested in the period drama, which stars Dominic West of 'The Wire' as a news anchor in mid-'50s London, you might check out our non-spoilery discussion of the show.

In the last segment, I talk about some of the things that have transpired at the Television Critics Association press tour, which I've been attending for the last two weeks.

I've got a bit more to say about the new season of 'Torchwood' further down in this post, and there are running times for the podcast below as well.

The 'Glee' spinoff is not quite dead, but don't look for a decision on it any time soon.

That was the main news that came from the Fox executive session at the Television Critics Association press tour, which consisted of entertainment president Kevin Reilly fielding questions from the media for about 45 minutes.

Though Reilly said he didn't want to give the recent 'Glee' controversy any more exposure by talking about it, he was asked about it repeatedly. There were certainly many questions about how 'Glee' executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk handled the crisis. (A brief refresher: Murphy said in an interview that three actors were leaving the show, some of the actors said they found out about that via Twitter, then Falchuk and Murphy said no one was leaving the show but essentially blamed the media for everything that went wrong). But Reilly refused to critique the producers' handling of the story in recent weeks.

'Mad Men' actress Cara Buono will guest star on the new CBS drama 'A Gifted Man' this fall.

Buono, whom 'Mad Men' fans will recall had a recurring season 4 role as psychologist and advertising consultant Faye Miller, will play a very different kind of professional woman in an October episode of 'A Gifted Man.' Like Miller, her character is self-assured and strong, but on the CBS show, she's a charter-jet pilot who meets neurosurgeon Michael Holt at a cocktail party, and he first thinks she may have carpal-tunnel syndrome but finds that there may be more going on.

The medical drama 'A Gifted Man' is one of my favorite pilots for fall. You might find that surprising, given the description of the show, which could be summed up -- without giving too much away -- in this way: "Top New York doctor has a very unusual relationship with his ex-wife."

It feels as though AMC's scripted fare has been part of the TV landscape forever, but it's worth noting that Don Draper and 'Mad Men' only arrived on our TV screens four years ago.

As Don well knows, hitting the big time can create its own set of problems. As AMC has dealt with the challenges that success brings, it has endured a roller-coaster ride of conflict and controversy, especially in recent months.

Here's the short version of AMC's recent history, a companion piece to our interview with network President Charlie Collier.

June 25, 2006: The miniseries 'Broken Trail' debuts and garners a very impressive 9.7 million viewers for the channel.

July 19, 2007: 'Mad Men' debuts, goes on to win dozens of awards and reside at or near the top of most critics' yearly Top 10 lists.

Jan. 20, 2008: 'Breaking Bad' debuts, and after an uneven strike-shortened first season, eventually joins 'Mad Men' as one of the most critically acclaimed shows on TV.

Early 2009: In a ritual that would be repeated two years later, negotiations between 'Mad Men' creator Matthew Weiner and AMC become public and acrimonious, but he eventually signs on to do Seasons 3 and 4 of the show.

The AMC network has followed a trajectory not unlike that of Don Draper, the ad man at the center of 'Mad Men.'

AMC's first two dramas, 'Mad Men' and 'Breaking Bad,' have been showered with acclaim, and the network had a huge hit last fall with the zombie chronicle 'The Walking Dead.' But just as Don Draper's image took a hit in the fourth season of 'Mad Men,' AMC has been enduring its own share of troubles during the past year. A timeline of AMC's ups and downs is here, but suffice to say, controversies over of 'Breaking Bad,' 'Mad Men,' 'The Walking Dead' and 'The Killing' make for a change from a few years of glowing coverage of the network's rapid ascent.

Charlie Collier, AMC's president, has a theory on why some of these things are happening this year. In a Thursday interview, he said it's partly due to the fact that the network has "a higher profile" these days. As he noted, AMC has "been in the business a relatively finite amount of time."

Having a higher profile sometimes makes you a bigger target, a fact that Don Draper and 'Breaking Bad's' Walt White know well. AMC is learning that too. As Collier said. "It's very difficult to live at a time where soundbites are perceived to be facts."

In the interest of not just providing soundbites, I asked Collier an array of questions about challenges facing the network -- and some of those big-picture challenges preceded its recent troubles. In the interview below, Collier addressed the ongoing negotiations over 'Breaking Bad's' final season or seasons, talked about 'The Walking Dead' situation and discussed what the network's goals are in the long term.

CBS president Nina Tassler addressed the two big casting changes that have kept 'Two and a Half Men' and 'CSI' in the headlines at a media event on Wednesday.

She revealed the name of Ashton Kutcher's 'Two and a Half Men' character: He's playing an Internet billionaire named Walden Schmidt, and when he arrives on the show, he'll have a "broken heart," Tassler said.

Will the new season of 'Two and a Half Men' begin with a funeral for Charlie Sheen's character, Charlie Harper?

Tassler wouldn't confirm or deny that but said that the season premiere, which will be split into two consecutive episodes, will be "a big event."

At an NBC party at TCA press tour on Monday, I ran into 'Chuck' executive producer Chris Fedak, who talked about a couple of big things that'll be happening in the NBC spy show's final season.

There's the casting of 'Matrix' star Carrie-Anne Moss in a multi-episode arc as Gertrude Verbanski, the head of a private espionage agency that competes with Chuck's new firm. A woman as tough, competitive and weapons-obsessed as Gertrude naturally appeals to John Casey.

"What we wanted to do this season is really kind of open up [Casey] to a new romantic relationship, and we thought we needed someone as badass as him," Fedak said. "Carrie-Anne seemed like the perfect fit."

But during the final season, there trouble among the Buy More staff -- Jeff and Lester, otherwise known as the not-quite-legendary rock band Jeffster, hit a rough patch in their relationship, and I learned that one of them even goes to jail. But could an 'Office' gig be in Jeffster's future? It's a long shot, but if it happens, it could be one of the funnest crossovers of the season.

Talking to critics at the Television Critics Association press tour Monday, new NBC entertainment president Robert Greenblatt took the right tack: He modestly called attention to the network's few bright spots, he didn't assert that the network would roar back this fall, and most importantly, he had Joel McHale from 'Community' relentlessly mock the Peacock Network well before Greenblatt even took the stage.

It was a wise move, and a way of acknowledging NBC's many problems without turning the Greenblatt session into an inquisition about the last decade of shoddy, brain-melting mismanagement at NBC. Well played, sir.

Some news came out of the session: Greenblatt said the second season of 'The Voice' will premiere Feb. 5, after the Super Bowl. The next episode of the singing contest will air Feb. 6, which is the same night that NBC's well-received mid-season pilot 'Smash' will premiere.

Members of the media who attended Sunday's 'Downton Abbey' panel at the Television Critics Association press tour were treated to several minutes from the second season of the period drama, which takes place during World War 1.

The staples of the series were still there -- the gorgeous interiors and exteriors of the stately home gleamed, the starchy butler Carson disapproved of something being done by one of the aristocratic Crawley sisters, the snippy ladies' maid O'Brien looked down her nose at a cheeky new member of the below-stairs staff, and the relationship between Matthew Crawley, the man set to inherit Downton Abbey, and Lady Mary, an aristocrat with a scandal in her past, looked as complicated as ever.

But in interviews conducted before the panel, members of the 'Downton' cast said the war lent a new sense of urgency to the country house drama, which returns Jan. 8.

Starz has finally released the 'Spartacus: Vengeance' trailer that the network showed at Comic-Con, and I've posted it below for your viewing pleasure.

I also interviewed 'Spartacus' executive producer and creator, Steven DeKnight, on Friday, and though I'll post the majority of the interview closer to the show's January premiere, but share some of his responses regarding the epic scope of the new season. First question: Did the show have the resources to properly depict Spartacus' post-ludus life on the run with his fellow escaped slaves?

"We definitely have quite a bit more money than we did in the past seasons and it shows," DeKnight said of the 10-episode season. "I mean, just look at the trailer. That one shot of a mine with a thousand people working in it gives you an idea the scope that we're going for."