The dialogue Peter Dinklage is given in Game of Thrones is so disproportionately rich and witty that I wonder if his castmates are jealous. It almost seems karmic to make someone from an underrepresented minority a show's star and most likable character. It's kind of like Disney World, where the disabled get a chance to have their day of priority (they zip to the front of lines with the speed that not even a Fastpass affords). But Tyrion's position isn't a matter of affirmative action: the brilliant thing about the character is that there's logic behind his sharpness, both in terms of physical survival and the assertion of his own existence. You can see in the reel above that his increasingly campy sister, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), blames him for killing their mother (she died in his childbirth). She obviously always has, and a man can even crumble under that stigma or use it to be great. For Tyrion, it's the latter.

Season 2 of Game of Thrones premiered on HBO last night, which means that Peter Dinklage can bring back sunshine to our lives. Even if the actor were half as charming, his Tyrion would still steal the show by virtue of his ability to cut through its pervasive bleakness and get to the driest of dry comic relief.

On tonight's Real Time, Bill Maher expressed his dissatisfaction with the gun culture in this country - whether you're on the neighborhood watch or just heading out to shoot a deer with a silencer.

Following last year's Tiny Furniture, indie darling Lena Dunham emerged as a break-out voice of a generation. Her new show Girls is a realistic, ballsy, awkward, humiliating, intimate, honest take on what it is to be a young Millenial, a 20-something female archetype living in New York City dealing with STDs, abortion, financial woes, orgasms, body issues and being stuck in the in-between space when you are "not a girl not yet a woman." It's unlike anything else on TV.

As Bill Maher put it on tonight's Real Time, making Kony famous without bringing him to justice isn't enough. By just making him famous, we put him on the regular celebrity track in this country which includes getting his cell phone hacked, hooking up with other celebrities and eventually getting into politics.

HBO has canceled its racetrack drama "Luck," after news of the series' third on-set horse death in two seasons broke earlier this week.

HBO's racing drama "Luck" is proving more dangerous than a glue factory for horses.

President Obama was the featured guest on Bill Simmons podcast The B.S. Report this week, and revealed himself as a fan of Omar Little, gay mass-murdering drug dealer from The Wire.

Last night while taking refuge from the Super Bowl I tuned into the second episode of Luck, HBO's new horse racing show. I fell asleep, just as I did during the first episode. Yes, I know this is supposed to be a "slow burn," but how long am I supposed to wait before feeling the heat?

A comedy blogger has unearthed Louis CK's rundown of making TV pilots, posted to Usenet (!) in 2006. Between this fantastic, lengthy document and Lorne Michaels' new interview with Alec Baldwin lie some excellent tips for hacking the Hollywood system, which we've distilled and posted below.

Did you guys watch Luck on HBO last night? Did you fall asleep like I did? Well, if you tuned in you saw the most exciting thing before the show even started: a new trailer for Game of Thrones.

Every single television critic has written their "10 Best of 2011" article and it's all, "Oooh, Breaking Bad." "Let's hear it for Community." "Friday Night Lights should never leave!" "Do you love Louie? I love Louie. You should love LOUIE!" Fuck them! All their damn lists are the same year after year. Here are some of the other things that happened on television when the critics were playing Ookie Cookie with each other.

Here's HBO's teaser for its upcoming adaptation of Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's book Game Change, the definitive account of gossipy things that people told Mark Halperin and John Heilemann during the 2008 presidential campaign. This clip suggests that, well, Sarah Palin may not be portrayed very nicely?

Saddened over the recent loss of HBO's hipster mystery (mipstery?) Bored To Death? So is Jonathan Ames, the guy who created it. But what's the point in wallowing in self-pity, if you can wallow in self-pity while drunk and surrounded by dozens of sympathetic fans? Wait, did I say dozens? How about hundreds! Thousands! No wait, dozens is probably for the best. Ames hopped on to Twitter tonight to announce that all fans of the series in the area should meet him at the Brooklyn Inn on Wednesday night for a drink on him. And he promised John Hodgman will be there! There is literally no down side here, people. Except the loss of Bored to Death, and the possibility of a fire hazard. But free drink! So... [@JonathanAmes]

The axe is falling at HBO today just like it fell on Ned Stark's head on Game of Thrones (spoiler alert!) and the networked cancelled Hung, How to Make It in America, and Bored to Death. But don't worry, seven people who watched Enlightened, it's coming back for more.

The perpetually up-and-coming actress gets another shot at the big leagues. Also today: Showtime wisely renews their best show, Jennifer Coolidge gets grunt work, and MTV says goodbye to some friends.

The Scream couple are working in Hollywood together. Also today: Lifetime remakes a modern Southern classic, some exciting Game of Thrones news, and HBO scoops up Liberace.

Because it loves nothing more than it loves a challenge, HBO's newest show Enlightened takes on the complicated world of self-help and recovery. So, what did we make of Laura Dern and screenwriter Mike White's character study?

One-time Real World: Key West star turned bloated MTV Challenge hang-about John Devenanzio, aka Johnny Bananas, is following through on a threat made this summer and suing HBO for privacy violation, defamation, and emotional damage because the show Entourage created a fake cartoon called Johnny's Bananas.

Thomas Jane, who plays a heterosexual prostitute on HBO's Hung opened up his past as a gay hustler in his younger days to the L.A. Times. Talk about going method! Strangely enough, this is probably the first time gay men are going to get all upset about a hunky actor talking about having man-on-man action.