Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

It’s over the hump day and we’re now in the middle of the big fall TV premiere week. Lots more shows to check out tonight, including the debut of Undercovers on NBC, The Whole Truth on ABC and The Defenders on CBS (depending on your preference of subject matters). There are the returns of SVU on NBC and Criminal Minds on CBS too. Then there are new episodes of Terriers on FX and Hellcats on the CW. What will you be watching?

In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Odette Yustman (October Road and the upcoming movie You Again) will appear with off-screen beau Dave Annable in upcoming episodes of Brothers & Sisters as his new love interest. (Kristin at E! Entertainment Online)

Lindsay Hartley, real-life wife of Justin Hartley has been cast in the final season of Smallville, playing a woman who takes matters into her own hands. She won’t be working with her husband but she’ll have her hands full with Clark. She will appear in Episode 8, which is titled Abandoned. Smallville is back this Friday at 8 PM on the CW. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Jorge Garcia (Lost) will guest star on the Matthew Perry midseason comedy, Mr. Sunshine. He will be playing a staffer at the Sunshine Center, a second-rate San Diego sports arena managed by Perry’s self-involved character, Ben. His character will also be added to the retooled pilot. (Entertainment Weekly and Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

Abby Brammell (The Unit) will guest star in an upcoming episode of NCIS, playing a bomb tech who becomes linked to a homicide. This episode is slated to air on October 5. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Singer Lyle Lovett will guest star on Castle as Agent Darryl Shafer, a shadowy government figure who detains and interrogates Castle (Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) as they investigate the death of a prominent astrophysicist whose body was found in her car—a victim of explosive decompression. He will appear in this season’s ninth episode. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) will guest star on the new Showtime series The Borgias in three episodes as Sancia, the beautiful and seductive Neapolitan princess who marries the Pope’s youngest son Joffre (Aidan Alexander), even though she has her eye on another Borgia brother. The series is a complex, unvarnished portrait of one of history’s most intriguing and infamous dynastic families. (Seat42f)

Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives and The New Adventures of Lois and Clark) will appear in the final season of Smallville as Lois Lane’s (Erica Durance) deceased mother Ella. This won’t be a creepy back-from-the-dead episode but rather in the episode, Lois discovers old videotapes of her mother. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has placed a pilot order with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. TV for a project based on the travel memoir The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World. The book follows the real-life travels of three Manhattan women who decided to quit their jobs and embark on a yearlong trip around the world. (Variety and John Young at Entertainment Weekly)

Pt. Dume, the new series from Baywatch creator Gregory Bonnan has been sold to Tribune Broadcasting stations in many major markets and will debut on weekends in Fall 2011. Set in Malibu, the series follows the story of a group of teenage delinquents who are forced to take part in a Coast Guard training program. The series has been cleared in 30% of the country and will appear on Tribune stations in several major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Seattle. (Hunter Walker at The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Carla Gugino will star opposite Jim Carrey in the modern adaptation of Mr. Popper’s Penguins, which is based on Richard and Florence Atwater’s classic 1938 children’s book. Carrey will star as a powerful New York businessman who suddenly inherits six penguins, which proceed to disrupt his personal and professional life. Along the way, he learns the value of family and friendship — both human and otherwise. (Jeff Sneider at The Wrap)

Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) will join Saoirse Ronan as the teenage assassins Violet & Daisy. The story sees the pair lured into what is supposed to be just another quick and easy job, only to find complications as the man they’re supposed to kill is not what they expected. (Variety and First Showing)

Guy Pearce (Memento) and Cloris Leachman (The Women) have joined the cast of the box office comedy Mis-Fits, which follows a necro-detective who goes in search of people’s lost, dead relatives. Catalina Sandino Moreno (Twilight: Eclipse), Seymour Cassel (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) and Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach) have also joined the cast. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Leslie Mann (Funny People) has landed one of the lead female roles in The Change-Up, which finds Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds in a classic body switch story where a responsible family man (Bateman) trades bodies with his lazy, man-child of a best friend (Reynolds). Olivia Wilde also stars. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with TV Gurus at TV Guide)

Question: How will House and Cuddy’s co-workers respond to their newfound love? — Mary

MICKEY: “Some of them think it’s great,” says House executive producer Katie Jacobs. “Others think, ‘Oh my God, this will never work and will be the worst news for us.'” As House puts it, his protégés are “in favor, indignant and indifferent,” respectively. Guesses in the comments to match doctor with reaction?

Question: Anything on The Mentalist? Will there be anything happening with Jane and Lisbon this season? — Clarisse

ADAM: Creator Bruno Heller tells us the events of the finale leave Jane pulling away from everyone he’s close to, out of fear that they will be Red John’s next victims. But Lisbon will have none of it. “Her faith in him and her willingness to go to bat for him means they’re much tighter,” Heller says. “As much as he wants to protect her by pulling away from her, he feels more love for her this year because they’ve been through so much, yet she’s proven that she’ll be there for him.”

Question: Big Fringe fan here — what, pray tell, will Walter be up to this season? — Matt

MICKEY: In addition to his groundbreaking research on chocolate milk, Walter’s initial caseload will center on that mysterious doomsday device. Personally, though, he’ll be mourning the death of his old friend William Bell. At some point, those two facets of his life will actually converge in a really fantastic way.

Question: I need some fresh NCIS spoilers. — Brandon

ADAM: I’m your guy, Brandon. The show is looking to add a new recurring character. Described as an authoritative leader with an operational history dating back to the Cold War, this former NCIS agent is an old workhorse who likes strong coffee and carries a flask. But he’s got a troubled past: Look for him to try to right the wrongs in his life.

Question: Any scoop on what comes next on The Event? I’m so confused already! — Colin

MICKEY: The producers promised that they’d be doling out answers quickly, and they weren’t lying! Episode 2 reveals both how Sophia and the other 96 detainees of Inastranka came to our country and where that disappearing jet (with Michael and Sean on board) went. Both answers involve crashes. On the other hand, when President Martinez asks more difficult questions — namely, how and why did those two events occur? — Sophia is not forthcoming.

Question: Got any intel on Bones? — Mitch

ADAM: Get ready for this sweet episode. To celebrate the launch of a new giant candy confection, a famous chocolatier creates the world’s largest candy bar. Just one problem: The nutty crunch inside is actually a body.

Question: Is Castle planning anything big this season besides the serial killer story arc? — Trevor

ADAM: Creator Andrew Marlowe tells us that the success of last year’s explosive two-parter with Dana Delany has him and his team planning a similar multi-night event for the spring. Naturally, details are sparse. “I can tell you that Beckett’s apartment won’t blow up this time,” he jokes.

Question: I’m so glad Parenthood is back. Can I get some Adam and Max scoop? I love their scenes together. — Carole

MICKEY: Max and his dad are finding it difficult to spend time together. Unfortunately, it’s not going to get any easier when Adam faces new challenges at work that will require him to be away from home even more. In the other Braverman employment news, househusband Joel will up-end Julia’s life when he decides to head back into the salt mines.

Question: I’ve watched the Smallville trailer a hundred times. What should we make of Chloe putting on Dr. Fate’s helmet? — Evan

ADAM: Not that much. While we’re pretty sure she’s not going to be the next Dr. Fate, that scene is quite significant. Chloe uses the helmet to find Oliver, and while she’s wearing it, she sees several other intriguing things — not the least of which is Clark not wearing black.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

It’s day 2 of the big fall TV premiere week and the question is: Did you make it through all the programming options last night? Hope so, coz there is even more tonight. What will you be watching?

Meanwhile, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The HBO series Boardwalk Empire just premiered and already it has been given a second season pick-up, but with the series getting 7.1 million viewers for its first time on the air, I guess it stands to reason they would renew. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Jay Karnes (The Shield) will have a recurring role in the ABC series V when it returns this fall. He will play FBI agent Chris Bolling, a newly assigned partner for agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell). The two have some history, having trained together at Quantico. However, Bolling quickly begins to suspect Erica may have divided loyalties when it comes to her dedication to the Visitor resistance group, the Fifth Column. The second season of V is slated to begin airing in November on ABC. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Jim Gaffigan (My Boys and Flight of the Conchords) will guest star in the season two finale of Royal Pains. The comedian/actor will play Pete Stambleck, a by-the-books park ranger who emerges from the woods one day with a massive personality change and no recollection of the evening before. While the series ran over the summer, it will be back this winter with six new episodes. The finale date for Royal Pains has not been set yet. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

Showtime announced yesterday they are picking up the ½ hour shows Weeds and The Big C for another season each. Both shows will return with new episodes for these seasons in 2011. (Twitter)

Mena Suvari (American Beauty) will appear in an episode of Psych, playing the only surviving victim of the Yin killer, joining Ally Sheedy, who reprises her role as the psychotic Mr. Yang. This is a planned trilogy, comprising of three season finale episodes, all revolving around a mysterious killer and his links to Shawn Spencer. The show’s season 5 finale is set to air sometime in 2011. (Daemon’s TV)

USA Network has closed a deal to bring Law & Order: Criminal Intent back for an 8-episode 10th season with the series’ original star Vincent D’Onofrio, who will return as Detective Robert Goren, a role he played for the first eight seasons. Discussions are under way with Kathryn Erbe and other CI alums (but not Jeff Goldblum, who recently announced his exit) to come back for the show’s farewell season. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

Christine Taylor (Zoolander) stars as cynical scrooge and jaded journalist Ann Wahl who is forced by her editor Zoe (Vivica A. Fox) to travel to a Christmas-themed town to meet a man whose passion for Christmas traditions has transformed a town in the made-for-TV movie Farewell Mr. Kringle to air on the Hallmark Channel on December 4 at 8 PM. The cast also includes Christopher Wiehl (Jericho) and W. Morgan Sheppard (Love’s Abiding Joy). (The Futon Critic)

ARTICLE ABOUT TELEVISION

20 of the most epic failures in network science fiction TV

ME: How many of these shows can you say you watched? I can say that I’ve watched nearly 2/3 of these shows. Wanna guess which ones?

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC has picked up a pilot about a CIA agent. The pilot called Legends is about a government operative with an uncanny gift for “legends” — what spooks call false identities — and is sent on a variety of missions while simultaneously coping with the possibility that his own identity may be a “legend” too. The pilot is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Littell. (The Hollywood Reporter Live Feed)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Spanish actor Alex Gonzalez has joined the cast of the box office movie X-Men: First Class”, playing Janos Quested aka Riptide, a mutant with the ability to spin his body at incredible speeds. He can also generate calcium growth in his bones which causes spikes to protrude from his skin. These abilities, when combined together, allow him to shoot his bone spikes at high enough speeds to punch through steel. (CBM and Dark Horizons)

Ron Eldard and Noah Emmerich (among others) have joined the cast of the J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg movie Super 8. The cast already includes Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Elle Fanning (Somewhere) in the lead roles. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Jodelle Ferland, Samantha Ferris and William B. Davis have joined the suspense thriller The Tall Man. which features star Jessica Biel as a mother whose child is kidnapped by a shadowy figure known only as The Tall Man. She begins an intense hunt to find and retrieve her child. (Bloody Disgusting and Dark Horizons)

Emily Blunt is attached to the box office comedy Engagement Games that follows three sisters in one family who all get engaged at the same time. The only catch is that only one of them can get their mother’s cherished wedding ring. Thus their father comes up with the solution of holding a ‘Family Olympics’ where the winner will score the ring. (Pajiba and Dark Horizons).

INTERVIEW

The UNEXPECTEDly-Ugly Truth About LIFE As The Top Dog

That’s it. Enjoy!

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