Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Is everyone getting excited for Thanksgiving? I know I actually am (for once), but I think that might have to do more with the long weekend than anything else.

Anyway, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Mariana Klaveno (best known as Lorena on True Blood) will guest star in the upcoming spinoff Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. She will play Veronica, a spotlight-hungry hell raiser who excels at manipulating the opposite sex. (Michael Ausiello)

FOX is actually going to air the remaining episodes of their new comedy Running Wilde after all. Fans can see them on Sunday nights this December.

Here is the schedule for those episodes:
Episode 7 – Tuesday, November 30 at 9:30 PM
Episode 8 – Tuesday, December 7 at 9:30 PM
Episode 9 – Sunday, December 12 at 7:00 PM
Episode 10 – Sunday, December 19 at 7:00 PM
Episode 11 – Sunday, December 26 at 9:30 PM
Episodes 12 & 13 – Tuesday, December 28 at 9:00 PM

As previously reported, repeats of the comedy will continue in the network’s Saturday, midnight/11:00c slot for the foreseeable future. (The Futon Critic)

Thomas Calabro (the original Melrose Place) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Castle, playing Scott Donner, a client of a Millionaire Matchmaker type who sets up wealthy men with beautiful women. Donner becomes a murder suspect when the matchmaker turns up dead. This episode also features guest star Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show). (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty) has been cast in an upcoming episode of the NBC drama Chase where he will Justin Tate, a cop-turned-fugitive who uses his law enforcement know-how to lure innocent prey. He’s also the first fugitive clever enough to elude the U.S. marshals. This episode will air in January. Chase will begin airing on Wednesdays starting January 12 as part of the network’s new mid-season schedule. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

NBC will air two more episodes of Undercovers on December 22 and 29 both at 8 PM. The will episodes 10 and 11 out of the original 13 episode order the series received. The next new airing of the show will be on December 1 at 8 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Michael J. Fox will reprise his guest starring role on an upcoming episode of The Good Wife, playing Louis Canning, a shrewd, cynical litigator who last faced Alicia (Julianna Margulies) when he represented a large pharmaceutical firm. The episode is set to air in early 2011. (The Futon Critic)

Not only has actress Jessica Tuck been made a regular on True Blood (for its upcoming fourth season), but also actress Janina Gavankar (The Gates) will be a regular. Meanwhile, actresses Alexandra Breckenridge (Life Unexpected) and relative newcomer Vedette Lim will have recurring parts in the new season. (Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings franchise) has joined the cast of the project Locke and Key, yet another comic adaptation. Otto would play the mother of three children who move into a New England mansion filled with fantastic doors that transform those who walk through them, and a malevolent creature bent on opening one particular door. (Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Director Gore Verbinski has been brought on to helm the Disney movie The Lone Ranger that will find Johnny Depp playing Tonto. There is no word yet on who portray the Lone Ranger, though. No release date has been set either. (Deadline and The Wrap)

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

Question: @jillkorte (via Twitter): Vampire Diaries!!!

Kristin: David Boreanaz is guest starring on The Vampire Diaries! OK, not really, but they are adding a character named Angel—only in this case Angel is a lady TV reporter who gets her flirt on with Damon Salvatore after she comes town to cover a “drug-related” bloodbath. Oh, and speaking of new characters, we can expect to first meet über-vamp Klaus in episode 16, which will probably air during February sweeps.

Question: Hanah: What happened to Pretty Little Liars? Is the show coming back soon?

Kristin: Pretty Little Liars returns Monday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m., and it is better than ever. In fact, we’ll find out who “A” is…well, who Hannah thinks “A” is anyway. (We doubt it’s true. Seems more like a jealous lover to us…) Plus, one couple gets married, one couple reevaluates their relationship and one (potential) couple is born.

Question: @seggler: What’s the deal with Lux and Eric? Any updates on their relationship?

Kristin: Ooh, things are getting juicy for Life Unexpected’s star-crossed lovers. According to our sources, Lux (Britt Robertson) and Eric’s (Shaun Sipos) relationship takes a big turn in the next few episodes for two reasons. (1) More secrets about Lux’s past will come to light, which affect the student-teacher relations, and (2) Sam (Landon Liboiron) knows their secret and is holding it over Lux’s head, causing things to come to a, um, head.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Week of Thanksgiving!! Is everyone getting ready for the big day and the much-anticipated long weekend? I know I am.

In the meantime, let’s get right into the news for today as I found some pretty interesting items:

TELEVISION

FOX has confirmed it will not be ordering more episodes of The Good Guys or Running Wilde. The official line is neither show has been canceled, nor have they been renewed. Take that for what it is. The Good Guys will end on December 10. (TV by the Numbers)

The Syfy version of the BBC hit series Being Human has been given a premiere date: January 17 at 9 PM. The US version is much like the original: three paranormal roommates, one a vampire Aidan (Sam Witwer), one a ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) and one a werewolf Josh (Sam Huntington) – who share their secrets and a Boston brownstone. Together they try their best to be human while navigating the complexities of living double lives. Mark Pellegrino (Lost) co-stars as Bishop, Aidan’s charismatic but menacing vampire mentor. (The Futon Critic)

Legendary actress Olympia Dukakis has been cast as an attorney on Law & Order: SVU where she will play Debby Marsh, an attorney hired to represent the son of guest star Drea de Matteo. The episode will air on January 5 at 9 PM on NBC. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Being Erica fans rejoice! SoapNet has finally set the premiere date for season 3 of the popular Canadian series. Set your DVR’s for January 26 at 11 PM. (Jennifer Armstrong at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Executive producer Carlton Cuse (Lost) has teamed with director Randall Wallace for a Civil War-set drama at ABC. Little is known about the project, though. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Jorge Garcia (Lost) has joined the J.J. Abrams FOX drama pilot Alcatraz, which centers on a group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day. It is to chronicle the efforts of a team of FBI agents to track them down and unravel the mystery behind their disappearance thirty years prior. Garcia will play the hippy geek Dr. Diego Soto, the world’s foremost expert on Alcatraz. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIES

Syfy has announced their upcoming made-for-TV movies for mid-season, including the following (via The Futon Critic):

Behemoth – Scientists discover a giant creature under the Earth that is wrapped around the entire planet. When the creature wakes all grumpy, it causes worldwide destruction. The movie stars Ed Quinn (Eureka) and will debut on January 15 at 9 PM.

Mega Python Vs Gatoroid – Debbie Gibson and Tiffany (yes, the former 80’s singing stars) will co-star in this about set in the Florida Everglades where giant pythons are threatening the alligator population. Gibson portrays a fanatical animal rights advocate who frees illegally imported exotic snakes from pet stores, while Tiffany plays an over-zealous park ranger worried about the growing ecological damage. The movie premieres on January 29 at 9 PM.

Metal Monster (working title) – Alien bacteria arrives on a meteorite and infects metal, animating a giant iron statue that goes on a killing rampage in a small town. The movie stars Kavan Smith (Stargate Atlantis and Eureka), Chris Gauthier (Eureka and Sanctuary), Nicole DeBoer (The Dead Zone), Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis) and Donnelly Rhodes (Battlestar Galactica). A premiere date has yet to be set.

Sinbad and the Minotaur – In this re-imagining of Greek and Arabic folk tales, starring Manu Bennett (Spartacus: Blood and Sand), the legendary voyager and his hearty crew of sailors and adventurers seek a long lost treasure. A premiere date has yet to be set.

Scream of the Banshee – The movie stars Lauren Holly (NCIS) as an archeology professor who unearths a dangerous artifact, unwittingly releasing a creature that is able to kill with the power of its bone-splitting scream. Lance Henriksen (Aliens) co-stars. A premiere date has yet to be set.

51 – The film chronicles what happens after political pressure from the American public forces the Air Force to provide a few well-known reporters with limited access to the most secretive base on the planet: Area 51. When one of the base’s hidden “long term visitors” exploits this unprecedented visit as a chance to liberate himself and his fellow alien captives, Area 51 turns from a secure government base to a horrifying destination of terror. The movie is a production of After Dark Films. Stars Jason London (Monsterwolf), Bruce Boxleitner (Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Tron) and Rachel Miner (Supernatural).

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Chris Zylka (10 Things I Hate About You – the TV series) is set to play Eugene “Flash” Thompson, Peter Parker’s bullying high school nemesis, in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. (Comic Book Movie and Dark Horizons)

Here is the top 10 movies in the box office for the past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, $125.1 million
2. Megamind, $16.2 million
3. Unstoppable, $13.1 million
4. Due Date, $9.2 million
5. The Next Three Days, $6.8 million
6. Morning Glory, $5.2 million
7. Skyline, $3.4 million
8. Red, $2.5 million
9. For Colored Girls, $2.4 million
10. Fair Game, $1.5 million

BOX OFFICE MOVIE ARTICLES

Disney Animation is closing the book on fairy tales

Joss who? Meet the writer of the new ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ film

NOTE: It’s amazing how many fans are 1) upset by the title of the above article and 2) even more upset that Warner Bros. would try to reboot the franchise. Me, personally, I think it’s awesome that a woman has been brought in to write it, but that’s about as far as my enthusiasm goes (for right now).

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: First Official Trailer for Duncan Jones’ ‘Source Code’!

AWARD WINNERS

Congrats to the winners of the American Music Awards that was announced last night. Here are just some of the winners (some of whom I simply cannot name because it is too farcical to believe they even won): Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum, Michael Bublé, Muse, and Glee (The Music, Volume 3—Showstoppers). (Zap2It)

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

Question: Do you think moving Fringe to Friday nights indicates that Fox wants to give the show a chance and is willing to accept lower numbers on a Friday than on a Thursday? Can Friday night truly become a place for more genre type shows? After all, The X-Files started on Fox on Friday nights more than 15 years ago. Or is Fox simply using it as a dumping ground recognizing that both Sarah Connor and Dollhouse failed there? Can’t there be a place on network TV for those of us more into science fiction rather than crime shows? — Faye

Matt Roush: Kind of hard to put a positive spin on this move, since this is the last place a fan of Fringe wants to see it end up on Fox’s lineup. In Fringe’s favor, this series is more established than many of the shows that Fox has hung out to dry in the Friday graveyard in recent years. And as you suggest, the expectations will be lower than on other nights, and if Fringe can hold on to much of its Thursday audience when it moves to Fridays in late January (following Kitchen Nightmares, not the most compatible lead-in), that could be seen as a win. But this move is hardly a sign of confidence in a show that took a big risk this season with its alternating split-universe structure. To answer your rhetorical question about the future of sci-fi on network TV: It’s always a risk, but there should be a place on the schedule of an adventurous network like Fox for cult TV with strong media buzz and loyal (if relatively modest in size) fan support.

Question: Is there anything you can do to get Terriers a second season? I love the show so much, and it’s one of the few new shows this year—or maybe the only one—that I fell in love with so quickly in such a short period of time. (I really like Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead and Justified, but I don’t love them yet, and Caprica and Rubicon, two flawed shows that I have a soft spot for, are already cancelled.) It’s so odd, too, because it seems like such an accessible show. It has great stand-alone stories that technically qualifies it as a “procedural” show, but on top of that it also has great ongoing arcs for the season, great writing, emotional and really hilarious at the same time, awesome characters, and really interesting relationships between those characters which makes it easy for people to get attached to it. But knowing how abysmal the ratings are, and that TV is a business after all, is there any possible way that FX could renew the show? This year hasn’t been a strong year for new shows, and I hate to see the strongest new show to get axed. Hmm, maybe just to cheer me up, are there any past examples where a show has horrendous ratings but gets a second (or third, or fourth) season despite it? — Belly

Matt Roush: As I noted in last week’s Q&A, whatever call FX makes regarding Terriers’ future will not be an easy one. If it doesn’t get renewed, I’ll be unhappy—and I agree with you that the show is easy to watch and enjoy without being simplistically formulaic—but I can’t say I’ll be surprised. To answer your first question, there’s nothing I can personally do to save the show beyond urging people to watch, as I have been doing pretty relentlessly since at least the show’s midpoint, when it became clear Terriers had something more going for it than the frothy diversion I positively reviewed at the start. To answer your last question, HBO seems unwilling to cancel almost anything these days regardless of how few people are watching (this applies mostly to the network’s dismal comedies, but also to In Treatment). And then there’s Friday Night Lights, which had the good luck to be rescued by DirecTV when it was on the brink of being canceled by NBC.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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