Hey All,
Counting down the hours until its Friday; but for now it’s countdown mode until I attend a Writers Guild event tonight with a good friend. The WGA is honoring writers who are nominated for Emmy Awards, which will be presented this Sunday.
In the meantime, here are the news items for today:
TELEVISION
Christine Lahti will be back on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, reappearing as overbearing ADA Sonya Paxton sent by the DA’s office to ride herd on the SVU team. (Ileane Rudolph at TV Guide)
Katee Sackhoff will be returning to The Big Bang Theory this fall, where she will reprise her role as “Katee Sackhoff,” the conscience of Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), in an episode that will also guest star Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette. Sackhoff is slated to appear in the September 23rd episode. (Maureen Ryan at AOL TV and Televisionary)
ARTICLES ABOUT TELEVISION
‘Chuck’ Exclusive: Meet Casey’s A-Team!
EXCLUSIVE Interview: Erin Karpluk talks Season 3 of Being Erica!
NOTE: The premiere date for Being Erica is for CANADA. For those of us in the States, we’ll have to wait to see when SoapNet decides to give it an airdate and time.
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
The new Syfy pilot Three Inches has announced more casting news. The show that already boasts James Marsters (Smallville, Caprica and Buffy), Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Naoko Mori (Torchwood) and Stephanie Jacobsen (Melrose Place and Battlestar Galactica: Razor) as part of the cast now also includes Noah Reid (Strange Days at Blake Holsey High). Antony Del Rio (The Super Hero Squad Show), Kyle Schmid (Blood Ties) and Brandon Jay McLaren (TRON: Legacy, Harper’s Island). The pilot will be 90-minutes long and will feature Alona Tal (Veronica Mars), Craig Eldridge (Covert Affairs) and Julian Richings (Supernatural) as guest stars in the pilot episode. The series is about professional daydreamer and underachiever, Walter Spackman (Reid) who is struck by lightning, and develops a unique “super” power — the ability to move any object using just his mind… but only a distance of three inches. He’s soon recruited by a covert team of superheroes each gifted with their own extraordinarily ordinary abilities. Together, the unlikely band of heroes proves that “super” is simply a state of mind.
The rest of the casting breaks down as follows:
Jace Alexander (Rescue Me, Prison Break) is directing the pilot, written by Harley Peyton (Twin Peaks), who also serves as executive producer. Fox Television Studios is producing with Executive Producer Robert Cooper, through his company Landscape Entertainment. J.J. Jamieson heads up television for Landscape Entertainment.
James Marsters will star as Troy Hamilton, a former government agent who takes Walter in to his own team of “super” heroes who fight evil wherever they find it. He is a father figure to Walter.
Andrea Martin will play Belinda Spackman, Walter’s mother, a brutally honest, comically cynical force of nature that loves her son more than words can say and will do anything to protect him.
Stephanie Jacobsen plays Watts, a beautiful “super” hero who has the ability to shape the emotions of anyone she meets at close range.
Antony Del Rio will portray The Human Smell, an adventurous, often irritating teenager who is able to emit a pungent gas through his pores that disables anyone nearby.
Naoko Mori plays Annika, a woman who can duplicate and broadcast any sound she hears.
Kyle Schmid will play Brandon, the “super” hero team leader with all the cockiness and strength of a true action hero, minus the superpowers. He is the opposite of Walter and sees most of the team as freaks.
Brandon Jay McLaren plays Macklin Sportello, Walter’s best friend, a big talker with not a lot to back it up. His relationship is tested when Walter begins to change, but he’s the friend that will always be there for him.
Alona Tal will guest star in the pilot as Lily Theroux, the kind, pretty girl next door and Walter’s long time crush who loves him but “not in that way.”
Craig Eldridge will guest as Todd, part of Troy’s team of “super” heroes who can see two minutes into the future at the cost of a massive disabling headache.
Julian Richings will also appear as a guest star playing Ethan, a man with the ability to communicate with and control the insect kingdom.
NOTE: Thanks to The Futon Critic for providing these details.
FALL TV PROMO PHOTOS
DVD ANNOUNCEMENT
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Channing Tatum will star in and co-produce the ensemble drama movie Ten Year, which follows a group of friends reunited a decade after their graduation. Jenna Dewan (Tatum’s wife), Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Chris Pine and Scott Porter are among those being sought for other roles in the film, but no deals are yet locked. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)
Jeremy Renner has been cat opposite Tom Cruise in the upcoming Mission: Impossible IV. Paramount has stated the following: “[We] have struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character not continue.” A scheduled release date for Mission: Impossible IV is December 2011. (First Showing)
Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)
Question: Any Glee scoop? —Ines
Ausiello: I’m hearing a major character (a series regular!) will find himself/herself in a literal life-and-death situation in this season’s third episode. In possibly related news (I say possibly because I honest-to-goodness don’t know), Chris Colfer’s Emmy-nominated TV dad Mike O’Malley tells us that episode 3 will be “another emotional, emotional episode” for father and son. The actor goes on to hint that the show will revisit the complicated dynamic between Burt and Kurt’s crush, Finn. “The last time I was on the show, [Burt] threw Finn out of the house. There [may] be some resolution there. One of the things I think is really important in life and for human beings is to forgive and be able to rise up from our mistakes. I’m hoping that Finn and Burt are able to cross that chasm.”
Question: Got anything on Brothers & Sisters? —Tim
Ausiello: Producers are looking for a “celebrity name” to play Gilles Marini’s gorgeous (natch) sixtysomething TV mom, who comes to town and makes quite an impression on the Walker family.
NOTE: I would suggest Raquel Welch or Ann-Margret since they would be gorgeous “older” women who could play his mom. Or if they want to go for slightly older than sixtysomething – there is always Sophia Loren.
Question: Are you going to make a list of the new shows we should watch, and the ones that we should miss? I have no idea how to set my DVR! —Amanda
Ausiello: Help has arrived…
Watch: Lone Star (Fox), Undercovers (NBC), The Event (NBC), No Ordinary Family (ABC), Raising Hope (Fox), Mike & Molly (CBS), Better With You (ABC), Hawaii 5-0 (CBS), and Nikita (The CW).
Miss: $#*! My Dad Says (CBS) and Hellcats (The CW).
If a new show you’re curious about isn’t listed above, it means either I’m on the fence (e.g., CBS’ The Defenders) or I haven’t watched the pilot yet (e.g., Outlaw).
NOTE: I cannot believe that I actually agree with Ausiello on the “to watch” shows – except for the comedies, none of which I will watch since I don’t comedies anyway. And, good for him for saying “miss” to Hellcats, as I didn’t really care for it either.
Question: Got any Castle scoop for us? —Jennifer
Ausiello: There’s a somewhat significant death in the second episode. I’m also hearing something about Castle revealing his REAL name.
Question: Anything on Chloe’s return yet on Smallville? —Maria26
Ausiello: Allison Mack will appear in the premiere and then return “in the middle of the season in a very impactful way in Clark’s life,” reveals Peterson. “It’s a great wrap-up to her character, and it also dovetails into the Chloe/Oliver relationship.”
Question: I have loved this season of Burn Notice so far, and I’m totally digging the addition of Coby Bell. But last week’s episode has me wondering: Now that (SPOILER ALERT!) Jesse knows that Michael burned him, what will become of Mr. Bell? —Kristina
Ausiello: He’ll be back for the second half of the season, don’t you worry. In the meantime, Jesse makes a choice in this week’s finale that will affect Michael in a major way. In possibly related news, the cliff-hanger finds Michael in the most perilous situation we’ve ever seen him in. And this dude’s been in some seriously perilous situations.
Question: The last two Ask Ausiellos haven’t had any scoop on the best series at this moment: The Good Wife! —Ingmar
Ausiello: Good thing we spoke to Alan Cumming over the weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys or else it would’ve been three in a row. Look for Eli to get “more heavily involved in Peter’s campaign,” he teases about his character’s story line this fall. “He gets meaner and ruthlesser.” Regarding his recent upgrade to series regular, Cumming says the biggest difference is “I get paid more. And I sort of have an idea of where my character is going now. [Before] I had no idea what was going to happen. The next week I could’ve been a murderer.”
Question: What are the chances Chuck will get a back-nine order? I’m freaking out over here! —Eric
Ausiello: I assumed exec producers Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz would be too. But they’re not. As Schwartz points out, “We never started a season with more than 13 episodes. Like last year, we will hope for the best, plan for the worst, and be ready to have an incredible final episode 13 if need be with a contingency plan to keep the season going.” Adds Fedak: “Episode 13 no matter what will be epic.”
That’s it. Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 
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