Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

It’s over the hump day and there is quite a bit of news to share with all of you:

TELEVISION

Angela Sarafyan has joined the cast of The Good Guys in a major recurring role, playing the offbeat and socially awkward Samantha Evans. Since she’s a lowly assistant crime scene investigator, she jumps at the chance to help Jack (Colin Hanks) and Dan (Bradley Whitford) with their cases. Angela has appeared on such series as The Mentalist, In Plain Sight and CSI: NY. The Good Guys will move to Fridays this fall, starting on September 24 at 9 PM on FOX. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Newcomer Simon Miller has been cast as the patriarch of the Lockwood pack, George Lockwood, on The Vampire Diaries. He will appear – in flashbacks – in the 4th episode of Season 2. (Carina Adly MacKenzie at Zap2It)

Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Tom Cavanagh (Ed) are set to guest star in an upcoming episode of Royal Pains when the series returns for its first ever winter season this January on the USA Network. Sedaris will play Nan Noonan, Jill’s partner for a Hamptons golf tournament, while Cavanagh will play pro golfer Jack O’Malley. (Fancast and Televisionary)

ARTICLE ABOUT TV

‘Brothers & Sisters’: Bobby Soto cast as Kevin and Scotty’s possible foster son

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Stephanie Jacobsen (Melrose Place) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood) have joined the new SyFy drama pilot Three Inches as series regulars. The series centers on Walter (Noah Reid), a twentysomething underachiever who acquires a seemingly worthless superpower after getting struck by lightning: he can move any object three inches with his mind. He goes on to recruit a team of fellow heroes, each with their own less-than-spectacular abilities. It was announced yesterday that Buffy alum James Marsters was cast in a lead role as well. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has also joined the cast of the Syfy superhero pilot Three Inches, where she will play Belinda Spackman, the mother of the main character, who is described as “a brutally cynical force of nature who will do anything to protect her son, who has developed a unique not-so-superpower: the ability to move any object three inches using his mind.” (The Hollywood Reporter and Televisionary)

FOX is developing an untitled drama pilot with writer Rick Eid and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci about a prosecutor who discovers that he can tell whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. “Show revolves around an overly ambitious prosecutor who wrongfully convicts an innocent man for murder, an event that becomes the trigger for his magical flashes and an understanding that he has a debt an understanding that he has a debt to repay to the innocent,” writes Variety’s Cynthia Littleton. (Variety and Televisionary)

Meghan Markle (Fringe) has landed the female lead role on the USA Network pilot A Legal Mind, playing Rachel Lane, an attractive paralegal with an encyclopedic knowledge of the law. Patrick Adams (Weather Girl) plays Mike Ross, a brilliant yet slacking college student impersonating a high-powered Manhattan corporate attorney. Gabriel Macht (The Spirit) also stars in the show as the firm’s recruiter who brings him on board. Additionally, Gina Torres (Huge and Firefly) was cast in second position as Katherine Pearson, a senior partner at the law firm. (The Live Feed by James Hibbard)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Looks like Al Pacino and Katie Holmes will be joining Adam Sandler in the upcoming romantic comedy Jack and Jill, a story about Jack, a family man who deals with his twin sister Jill visiting for Thanksgiving. Sandler will be playing both of the siblings. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Anna Paquin (True Blood) and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) have joined the cast of Scream 4, but no confirmation has been made as to what roles they will play. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, as well as Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Adam Brody. (Jeff Labrecque at Entertainment Weekly)

Jim Caviezel (The Passion of Christ) and James Frain (True Blood and The Tudors) have joined the cast of the box office thriller called Transit, which follows a band of thieves on the run from a bank robbery who stash their stolen money in a family SUV at a rest stop. The suburban family is on a camping trip and unaware of the murderous band of outlaws on their trail. Caviezel will play the protective father of the family. Elisabeth Rohm plays the family’s mother. Harold Perrineau (Lost) and Diora Baird play two of the bank robbers. There is no word on Frain’s role yet. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with the TV Gurus as TV Guide):

Question: Stefan seemed different in the Vampire Diaries finale. Where is he heading? — Katherine

MICKEY: Interestingly, it’s Katherine’s arrival that awakens something in Stefan. “He accepts that he’s a vampire more; he’s less plagued by being a victim and being run over by his brother,” Paul Wesley says. “He becomes more proactive, and he knows how to have fun sometimes.”

Question: Why is Beckett getting another boyfriend on Castle? Can’t she and Castle get together already? — Melinda

ADAM: “If you don’t create obstacles, the flirtation will lead to something much sooner than the audience wants,” creator Andrew Marlowe tells us. But he promises the roadblocks, including Castle’s reunion with his ex-wife, aren’t just there for the sake of keeping the characters apart. “Part of our metaphor in the early stretch of the season is that these two people, who many feel belong together, ‘married’ the wrong people,” Marlowe says. “So, we’re rooting for them to wake up and find each other again.”

Question: What more can you tell me about the Smallville premiere? — Allen

ADAM: I can tell you that it ends with a twist that executive producer Kelly Souders says “rocks [Clark’s] world and sends him on a different trajectory. … He realizes that he’s not the guy that everybody looks to when they think of Superman, an inspirational totally pure-hearted guy. That’s not who Clark Kent is right now, and that becomes very clear to him.”

Question: Do you have any Chuck scoop about Casey? —Melanie

MICKEY: We’ll meet two former members of Casey’s Special Ops team. One will be as grounded as the other is skittish. They’ll also, oddly, kind of remind you of Justin “I’m a Mac” Long and John “I’m a PC” Hodgman.

Question: What more can you tell me about the Smallville premiere? — Allen

ADAM: I can tell you that it ends with a twist that executive producer Kelly Souders says “rocks [Clark’s] world and sends him on a different trajectory. … He realizes that he’s not the guy that everybody looks to when they think of Superman, an inspirational totally pure-hearted guy. That’s not who Clark Kent is right now, and that becomes very clear to him.”

Question: Do you have any Chuck scoop about Casey? —Melanie

MICKEY: We’ll meet two former members of Casey’s Special Ops team. One will be as grounded as the other is skittish. They’ll also, oddly, kind of remind you of Justin “I’m a Mac” Long and John “I’m a PC” Hodgman.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Some really great casting news has been announced today along with some trailers for upcoming fall shows; and much more. Please check out the following TV and movie news for today:

TELEVISION

Judd Hirsch will join his former Numb3rs co-star Rob Morrow on Rob’s new fall show The Whole Truth, starring as Ruben Wright, a distinguished and well-respected judge who is accused of corruption and murder. He hires Morrow’s rising criminal attorney to represent him. Maura Tierney’s character, who tried the first case of her career in front of Judge Wright, reluctantly takes on the task of prosecuting him. The Whole Truth premieres on September 22. Hirsch’s episode is slated to air in October. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Reggie Austin (Life Unexpected and The Starter Wife) will play the New York baseball star husband of Vanessa Williams’ new housewife, Renee Perry, on Desperate Housewives. (William Keck at TV Guide)

James Marsters (Buffy, Angel and Caprica) will finally get to play a good guy. He will play Troy, leader of a gang of superheroes with substandard powers, in the new series Three Inches on Syfy. The show revolves around a man named Walter who gets struck by lightning and finds he can move objects with his mind — but he can only move them three inches. He is then recruited into a superhero gang full of people with similarly lackluster powers. (TV Squad and Digital Spy)

AMC will launch their newest drama The Walking Dead with a 90-minute premiere on Halloween night (October 31), starting at 10 PM. The series is based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The six-episode series tells the story of life following a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Jon Bernthal (The Pacific and Eastwick) plays Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, Shane Walsh, and Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), is Rick’s wife, Lori. Supporting cast include Laurie Holden (The Shield), Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs and Steven Yeun. Also, Lennie James (Jericho and Hung) will be featured in the pilot. Subsequent episodes will be one-hour long presentations. (The Futon Critic)

Alicia Coppola (Jericho) will guest star in an upcoming episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, playing FBI agent Amy Rand, an expert on kidnapping cases. Her first appearance is slated to air in October. NCIS: Los Angeles returns with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, September 21 at 9 PM on CBS. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

FALL TV

Will Lone Star Live Up to its Promos?

AMC’s epic ‘The Walking Dead’ trailer, premiere date

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Steven Spielberg and Fringe’s Kurtzman/Orci to Turn the Graphic Novel Locke & Key into a TV Show

Looks like Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos) has been tapped to star opposite Sherry Stringfield (ER) in the new as-yet untitled Josh Berman pilot for Lifetime. The series is a closed-ended drama set in San Diego, centering on police detective Molly Collins (Stringfield), married mother of two on the verge of divorce, who, along with her partner Brooke Kross (Sigler), investigate the city’s most high-profile crimes while navigating their divergent personal lives. This series is one of 3 new pilots ordered by the network in June. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Meanwhile, John Hawkes (Deadwood and Lost) is set to star in the FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, which is a crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty. It focuses on 4 main characters, played by Luke Grimes (Brothers & Sisters), Haley Bennett (Marley & Me), Mary Steenburgen and Hawkes. Grimes plays twentysomething Eli Larkin, a half-cowboy, half-modern guy who tries to get out of the crime ridden life he has grown accustom. Bennett plays twentysomething Annabel Lee, a gorgeous country singer who is living in the shadow of her overprotective mother (Steenburgen). Hawkes plays Tarzen Larkin, Eli’s uncle and one of the most charismatic and compelling characters in Slaughter, a big-time player in the Southern crime world. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood Daily)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Andrea Bowen (Desperate Housewives) will star as a driven equestrian who suffers a near fatal injury during a horse show in the Hallmark Channel movie After the Fall set to premiere on October 9 at 8 PM. The movie co-stars Greg Evigan, Gail O’Grady, Rick Malambri (Step Up 3-D) and Fiona Dourif (Deadwood). (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

A script by Ahmet Zappa and Michael Wislon called Monster Witness Relocation Program, based on an original idea by Zappa, is being made into a movie. The book follows a brother and sister who discover they hail from a long line of monster hunters, who must learn the family business quickly when their father is kidnapped and they take on the most diabolical creature in the universe. (Deadline New York and Dark Horizons)

Paul Rudd, Topher Grace and Kristen Wiig are being recruited for the independent film Bobby Blue Sky, which focuses on three dysfunctional siblings dealing with their baby brother’s accidental fame (as a character in their father’s children’s book series) warping their lives. (Pajiba and First Showing)

Jessica Alba will be taking on a parental role in the film sequel Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World. The fourth installment of the franchise will see Alba as a retired spy who has been reactivated and mother of a baby and two preteen stepchildren who will step up to be the new Spy Kids. Although this is technically a reboot, apparently franchise star Antonio Banderas and original kids Alexa Vega & Daryl Sabara (all grown up) are expected to get supporting roles. (Heat Vision and First Showing)

Harold Perrineau (Lost), Diora Baird (My Best Friend’s Girl) and Elisabeth Rohm (Heroes) will be starring in the thriller Transit, which follows a band of thieves on the run from a bank robbery and the suburban family they come across during their escape. When the criminals stash their stolen money in the family’s SUV at a rest stop, the road trippers unwittingly draw the murderous band of outlaws on their trail. Rohm plays the mother of the traveling family heading out on a camping trip while Perrineau and Baird are members of the bank robbery crew. (First Showing and The Hollywood Reporter)

Taylor Schilling (Mercy) will star opposite Zac Efron in the screen adaptation of The Lucky One based on the Nicholas Sparks romance novel. The story follows a young Marine who, upon completing three tours in Iraq, returns home to North Carolina attributing his survival to a photo of a mysterious girl, who he then sets out to find. When he finally meets her, the two begin to develop feelings for each other. (The Wrap and Variety)

Looks like Sam Worthington is heading to his hometown of Perth, Australia to star as the lead in the surfing drama Drift, which is an inspired-by-facts story that follows how surfing evolved from a pastime to a global industry. Worthington will play a photographer and journalist instrumental in that revolution. (The West Australian and Dark Horizons)

Andie MacDowell has signed on to play the wife of Dennis Quaid in the upcoming Footloose remake. The acting vets should be a welcome addition to a cast that boasts relative newbies Kenny Wormald (Center Stage: Turn it Up) and Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars) as the teen leads. The movie should be on the big screen next April. (Nicole Sperling at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

‘Red Hill’ trailer: Ryan Kwanten is a real cop with his real accent

Q&A SECTION (with Kristin at E! Entertainment Online):

Question: Alex in Venice, Italy: Is Jonathan Groff ever coming back to Glee?

Kristin: Yes! Executive producer Dante DiLoreto tells us, “Yes, absolutely, without a doubt Jonathan will be back. He’s in London right now. We’re hoping he’ll finish that pesky play and come back and work with us.”

SPOILER ALERT!!! – Tread lightly!!

Question: Drew in Chicago: What’s the latest on Brothers and Sisters? You haven’t talked about it in a while!

Kristin: I forgot! And that’s exactly what’s going to be happening to Holly (Patricia Wettig) in the new season—except she’s gonna forget something much bigger. She has memory loss and can’t even remember her own daughter Rebecca, from what I hear. I’m guessing this makes the loss of Emily VanCamp somehow easier? I’m also told that Emily will appear in episode three and four of the new season and that she and Justin will have some serious problems. And there may be another little Walker on the way! One of the women wants to get pregnant.

Question:Nikki in Bowling Green, Ohio: Parenthood was one of my favorite new shows last year, and I need some scoop on the second season!

Kristin: You’re in luck, because the season premiere date is just around the corner (September 14) Erika Christensen was gracious and lovely enough to spill some tidbits on what’s coming up for Julia, and it involves spawning. “My character decides she wants to get pregnant and have a second child. Her husband maybe isn’t quite as enthusiastic about it as she is.” And if her hubby ain’t gonna do the job, someone else might! There are plenty of hot dudes coming on the show next season, after all. “When a woman makes up her mind, she gets what she wants. I do occasionally think maybe she’ll have an affair at one point,” she says. Relax, she’s joking. Or is she?

Question:Roland in Toluca Lake, Calif.: It would be so double rainbow if you could give me any secrets from the next season of Castle.

Kristin: Remember when you thought Stana Katic couldn’t get any hotter? You are so wrong. “Beckett rides a motor bike!” she tells us gleefully. And this won’t be a one-time thing either, so don’t you worry—it’s her new thing. “Beckett definitely has a motor bike at home. I’m so stoked. I can’t wait!” We can’t either. Meanwhile, that sound you hear is millions of fanboys drawing up concepts for Stana’s leather biker-babe ensembles.

Question:Sarah in Massapequa, N.Y.: Am I the only person sensing some romantic tension between Aria’s dad Byron (Chad Lowe) and Hanna’s mom Ashley (Laura Leighton) on Pretty Little Liars?

Kristin: Trust us, you are definitely not the only one catching the pair’s meaningful stares and ever-growing connection, but there might be someone standing in their way when this guiltiest of guilty pleasures returns, and that someone isn’t his estranged wife, Ella (Holly Marie Combs). We caught up with Amanda Schull, aka Byron’s former mistress Meredith, who tells us fans will be seeing more of her in the second half of the season: “As far as I know I will be [back]. I don’t know the details of that but I know that the story line, especially the story lines in the book say I will be.” Well, according to the books she’s around for a long time.

Question:Kiley in Colorado: Any scoop on Psych? My friends and I all agree that this season’s run of episodes has been awesome—so much better than all of last year’s serious drama!

Kristin: Agreed! Lost’s Nestor Carbonell spilled to us about his upcoming guest gig on Psych: “I play a criminal profiler who rivals Shawn and who one-ups him at every turn. Shawn’s never had somebody one-up him. Shawn’s always the man in charge—he’s pretty much a superhero. But I come in and I destroy him—which is a lot of fun.”

Question:Britney in Dallas, Texas: I’m so over Stelena and Delena on The Vampire Diaries. Please tell me we will see more Dalaric!

Kristin: You can rest easy because we will be seeing plenty of Damon and Alaric teaming up in season two. We asked Matt Davis about the unlikely duo’s partnership and here’s what he told us: “Our bromance is definitely developing. You’ll see much more of that for sure. I love Ian to pieces and I love working with him and I think our chemistry as friends and the way Kevin and Julie write the two of them together, just the archetypes of the two characters together I think fit really well.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Can you guys believe that Labor Day is coming up in two weeks? Where in the world did the summer go? Maybe it’s me, but this year is flying by so fast.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today that I hope you will find interesting:

TELEVISION

The CW will be giving viewers a second chance to see the networks new dramas Hellcats and Nikita. Hellcats will debut on September 8 with Nikita premiering on September 9. Then the shows will be rebroadcast on September 10 (back to back). The network will do the same thing for both show’s second episodes, airing rebroadcasts on September 17. Don’t worry Smallville and Supernatural fans; both shows return on September 24. (The Futon Critic)

Jennifer Morrison (House) will make a guest appearance on the 6th episode of the new NBC drama Chase as Faith, a single mother-turned-fugitive who embarks on a bloody killing spree across Texas with her innocent little daughter in tow. Chase premieres September 20 at 10 PM. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Tia Texada (Third Watch and Huge) will guest star in the 4th episode of Chuck, starring as the exotic wife of Premier Alejandro Goya (Armand Assante). (William Keck at TV Guide)

Jennifer Aniston will reunite with Courteney Cox as a guest star on the season premiere of Cougar Town on September 22 at 9:30 PM. (The Futon Critic)

MORE GLEE NEWS

Glee Scoop: Britney “Lockdown,” a Romance Update and…John Stamos Is Getting His Own Show!

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah are to star in the upcoming box office movie Joyful Noise, which centers around two women who join forces to prevent a small-town gospel choir from shutting down. Latifah will play the mother of two teens who is put in charge of the Pacashau Gospel Choir after the death of its choir director. Parton will appear as the choir director’s widow who hopes to take over her late husband’s job. (Dark Horizons)

Carey Mulligan (An Education) will be joining Ryan Gosling and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) in the action movie Drive, which is an adaptation of the novel by James Sallis that follows a nameless Hollywood stuntman (Gosling) who moonlights as a freelance getaway driver during robberies. When a bank heist goes wrong, he ends up on the run with a contract on his head and an ex-con’s girlfriend (Mulligan) sitting in the passenger’s seat along for the ride. (First Showing)

Here are the top 10 box offices movies for this past weekend courtesy of E! Entertainment Online and Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Expendables, $16.5 million
2. Vampires Suck, $12.2 million
3. Eat Pray Love, $12 million
4. Lottery Ticket, $11.1 million
5. The Other Guys, $10.1 million
6. Piranha 3D, 10 million
7. Nanny McPhee Returns, $8.3 million
8. The Switch, $8.1 million
9. Inception, $7.7 million
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, $5 million

MORE X-MEN NEWS

Bryan Singer Talks “X-Men” Details

AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations are in order for the winners of the Creative Arts Emmys that were presented over the weekend (courtesy of E! Entertainment Online):

Guest Actor in a Drama Series: John Lithgow, Dexter
Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Ann-Margret, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty White, Saturday Night Live
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Neil Patrick Harris, Glee
Voice-Over Performance: Anne Hathaway, The Simpsons
Animated Program: Disney Prep & Landing, ABC
Short-Form Animated Program: Robot Chicken, Cartoon Network
Reality Program: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, ABC
Children’s Program: Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Disney Channel
Variety, Music or Comedy Special: The Kennedy Center Honors, CBS
Special Class Program: 63rd Annual Tony Awards, CBS
Commercial: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” (Old Spice Body Wash)
Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush from TV Guide)

Question: I am a long-time follower of your columns and reviews, and I just want to thank you for all the great series you have steered me toward over the years. The latest is Breaking Bad, which I never would have gone near if not for your raves. What an amazing show. Now I’m wondering if you have been watching The Glades and what you think of its development. Being from South Florida, I am always curious about shows located there. Most shows don’t get the feel of the place (we won’t even speak of that CSI show), but this one seems to be doing it right so far. And talk about someone coming out of left field: Where did this amazing guy Matt Passmore come from? Because I know he is Australian, I’ll forgive his lack of a Chicago accent, but he has developed such an interesting and believable character (thank you also, writers) and is such a charismatic lead. After Lost, I never thought I could appreciate Kiele Sanchez in anything, but I am enjoying her performance as well. Thanks again for all the enjoyable hours of TV and please keep writing your columns! — Susan

Matt Roush: Well, thanks for that encouraging feedback. With The Glades, I’ll fess up that I haven’t seen every episode (which is one of the blessings of a show like this; it doesn’t penalize the viewer who merely samples), but what I’ve seen I’ve liked. Especially Passmore, whose biggest previous credits include Australian standouts Underbelly (which has aired on DirectTV) and McLeod’s Daughters. I enjoy his character’s laid-back irreverence. It fits the funky swampy setting, which as you noted does feel more authentic than the Miami of you-know-what. It’s a fun show, perfect for summer, much like the various USA Network hits — and can I just say, while we’re plugging not-so-guilty summer pleasures, how much Covert Affairs is growing on me; fans won’t want to miss this week’s Christopher Gorham-“Auggie”-centric episode.

Question: I loved Alex O’Loughlin in Moonlight, and I loved the show’s blend of crime, mystery and romance. Have you seen any of the new Hawaii Five-0? I’m trying to decide if I should try it out, but I worry that it will be too much of just a cop show, which I don’t think I’d like. Does it have a fun side? Any romance? — Amanda

Matt Roush: More like “bromance,” at least in the pilot, which is all anyone has seen at this point. The new Hawaii Five-0 is more of an action than “cop” show — the heroes form an anything-goes task force that operates almost outside the law — and takes full advantage of the island’s native beauty, both natural and human. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before O’Loughlin gets a love interest if they haven’t developed one for him already, but the real relationship that matters in the early going is the fractious bantering between his character of Steve McGarrett and Scott Caan’s scene-stealing sidekick, “Danno.” That’s where the fun and humor come in during a pilot that otherwise is pretty violent and is fueled by tragedy and revenge.

Question: I’ve finally finished the first season of Stargate: Universe, and I’m curious about your thoughts on it (and whether you thought it was worth watching, as I don’t remember reading anything about your opinion of it). Stargate: SG-1 was much lighter and had a sense of humor that was usually near the surface, and we’ll just pretend Atlantis was a bad dream. However, SG:U seems like an attempt to shoehorn the Stargate mythology into the dark style and brutal sensibilities of Battlestar Galactica. Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained by the first season and will keep watching, but it’s a departure from what the franchise was, and the melding of the SG mythos with the BSG style results in the proverbial machine that knows all the words but can’t quite get the music right (if that makes any sense). However, I can’t fault it for providing an unexpected reboot of the franchise, and if I only watched shows as good as BSG, then I wouldn’t be watching much. Also, I said I’d watch when it comes back, but I guess that’s making a pretty big assumption: Has it been renewed? — Mike

Matt Roush: Yes, it will be back, with the second season starting Sept. 28 — in a new Tuesday time slot, now that Fridays on Syfy have been turned over to wrestling this fall. (Don’t get me started.) It’s one of my so-far-fruitless goals to catch up with the second half of the Universe season before the new episodes begin. Your reaction of the show feels pretty spot-on to me. There’s no question its tone is darker and harsher than the Stargate norm, and I got the sense many franchise fans were turned off by its relentlessly downbeat nature. I’m certainly intrigued by it, but the fact that so many episodes remain unwatched on my DVR tells me that either my priorities are out of whack or it’s not a world I’m particularly eager to keep exploring. For now, though, keeping an open mind, and even if I end up jumping into the second season without completely finishing the first, I’ll try to give it a shot.

Question: I’ve been getting a bit concerned about Being Human lately. It’s gotten very dark this season as Mitchell has headed down a very scary path in the power vacuum after Harrick’s death. It’s bothered me that we’ve lost some of the whimsy that made me love the first season so much. I hope they lighten things up a bit as we go. I did thoroughly love the scene where Mitchell, stressed out by a long day of vampire taming and a really bad date, goes ape nuts because his favorite TV show has been moved. There’s a vampire after my own heart. — Ann Marie

Matt Roush: Yes, the show is darker and (with those mad experimenting scientists) scarier this season, but I’m OK with that. The characters themselves remain so engaging and amusing, when they aren’t being beaten down by their inner and sometimes outer demons, that I find the new conflicts in their lives (and afterlives) quite gripping. This is still among my favorite supernatural shows of the moment, and I hope Syfy’s Americanized version doesn’t diminish my appetite for this very original piece of dark brilliance.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

The news isn’t too voluminous for once, making this update one of the shortest in a long time; but there is still some good news to share.

TELEVISION

Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse) will guest star in the season premiere of the returning FOX series Human Target. Also, Timothy Omundson (Psych) will return to guest star in that same episode. Molly Parker (Swingtown) and M.C. Gainey (Lost and Justified) are set to guest in episode two. (Korbi at Give Me My Remote)

Michael J. Fox is set to guest star in an upcoming episode of The Good Wife as a pharmaceutical lawyer with a neurological condition. (Maureen Ryan Via Twitter)

Ryan Devlin (Cougar Town) is headed back to Grey’s Anatomy for a multi-episode November sweeps arc, playing the husband of Mandy Moore’s ailing character who will also return to the series in this season’s sixth and seventh episodes, which are slated to air on October 28 and November 4). (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Ross McCall is set to reprise his role on White Collar. He first appeared as Keller an episode to be called Bottlenecked. In this appearance his character looks to avoid a stint in a maximum-security prison. He will receive an assist from a fellow criminal played by Adam Goldberg (The Unusuals and Entourage). It is unclear when this episode will air, but the series will return in January 2011 with new installments. (Fancast and M. L. House at TV Fanatic)

Tiya Sircar (Make It or Break It and The Suite Life on Deck) will guest star on The Vampire Diaries as Amiee Bradley, a high school student who gets involved in supernatural. She will show up on the September 23 episode. (M. L. House at TV Fanatic)

John Glover will be back to reprise his role of Lionel Luthor for multiple episodes of Smallville’s final season. This will be interesting considering the last time he was seen in the show his son Lex pushed him out a window to his death. Glover is booked for at least two episodes, both of which are expected to air in November. He joins a growing list of Smallville alums rejoining the show in its final season, including John Schneider (Pa Kent), Laura Vandervoort (Supergirl), James Marsters (Brainiac), and Michael Shanks (Hawkman). (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Diane Farr (Numb3rs and Rescue Me) will guest in an October episode of Grey’s Anatomy as a patient with Huntington’s disease. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

TV SPECULATION

Longtime followers on Twitter will remember that I [that would be the Televisionary talking] pushed Josh Holloway for the role of Jim Rockford in NBC’s resurrected The Rockford Files back in the spring when I read the pilot script. Michael Ausiello is now pushing Holloway as well and reports that the former Lost star has been “mentioned in connection to the project, but [an unnamed] insider stresses that there are no serious talks going on at this time.” So it’s not like an offer has gone out to Holloway or anything but the project is still alive and kicking, even after an abysmal pilot that starred Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner made famous. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly and Televisionary)

DVD ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mutant X

CSI: NY

Andromeda

That’s it. Enjoy!

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