Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

TV viewing was interrupted last night due to a special address by President Obama in honor of the tragic shootings in Tucson so some shows were pre-empted for other programs or just not aired at all. In light of those changes, here is what you can look forward to in the weeks to come:

TV SCHEDULE CHANGES (all from Zap2It)

FOX will air the two Human Target episodes that were bumped last night to this Friday, January 14. They will air from 8 to 10 PM. These are the last two episodes of the season for the show, which moves out of the way to make room for American Idol next week.

ABC rested Better With You for a week and is moving the Cougar Town episode that was scheduled for last night to next Wednesday (Jan. 19). The two subsequent episodes will also slide back a week. Cougar Town then goes on hiatus for a couple months to make way for the new comedy Mr. Sunshine. The episode originally scheduled for February 2 will air after Cougar Town returns in April.

ABC will air an encore of the Off the Map season premiere after Grey’s Anatomy TONIGHT (January 13) in place of Private Practice, which will see that episode air on February 3.

NBC will air the episode of Chase that was to return last night at 9 PM to next Wednesday, simply moving all subsequent episodes ahead one week.

ME: And, here is the rest of the entertainment news for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Rachel Boston (American Dreams) will join the USA Network drama In Plain Sight, playing Detective Abigal Chaffee, a recurring love interest for Marshall (Fred Weller). (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Leven Rambin, who has a current role in CSI: Miami, will be appearing in One Tree Hill in a recurring role. She will play a young woman Brooke crosses paths with as she explores adoption options. Rambin will make her first appearance on the long-running CW series in the season’s 19th episode. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Cheech Marin will make a multiple-episode run in the new ABC medical drama Off the Map as Papa, a village medicine man who has a great love-hate relationship with Tommy (Zach Gilford). Actress Elizabeth Peña will appear toward the end of the first season, as the mother of one of Lily’s (Caroline Dhavernas) ex-ex-ex-boyfriends. And, Ed Begley Jr. will turn up as a traveling dentist while British actor Jonathan Cake (Six Degrees) will play a guy who’s been in love with Zee (Valerie Cruz) for years and years. And, last but not least, TV vet Ralph Waite in an as-yet unrevealed role. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Nick Stahl has joined the cast of the FOX drama pilot called Locke & Key, which is now being considered for fall and is based on the Joe Hill comic, telling the story of Nina Locke (Miranda Otto) and her three children, Tyler, Kinsey (Sarah Bolger), and Bode who, after the brutal murder of Nina’s husband Rendell Locke, return to Keyhouse, his old family home in Massachusetts. There, they are pestered by an evil entity named DODGE that’s determined to hold the family hostage one way or another until it gets what it wants. Stahl will play Rendell’s younger brother Duncan Locke, an art teacher, who lives nearby and frequently visits Nina and the kids and who strangely has few memories of his time growing up in Keyhouse. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg are going to write the Syfy pilot-in-development Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), which is based on the classic British TV show. The pilot would be about Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), a detective who’s murdered while investigating a case. He returns as a ghost, visible only to his former partner, and helps him solve crimes from beyond the grave. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Looks like the Charlie’s Angels reboot has been given a green light by ABC. The story will be set in Miami and comes from Sony Pictures TV and Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films. Smallville writers/former executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Miller wrote the script and will executive produce. (Michael Ausiello and Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Frances McDormand is set to voice the villain in the new animated movie Madagascar 3, which finds Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith all reprising their roles as big-game animals who escaped a New York. In this chapter the animals reunite to try to find their way home by joining a traveling circus, with new characters to include an Italian sea lion, a Russian tiger and a Latina jaguar. McDormand will voice a calculating and goal-oriented animal control officer out to capture them. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan will star in the box office movie called Dibbuk Box where he will play a recently divorced father whose daughter’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic after she purchases an antique wooden box at a yard sale. He soon discovers that the box was built to contain a dislocated spirit — a dibbuk — that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host. The movie is expected to be out on October 28. (Jeff Sneider at The Wrap)

CELEBRITY BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT (just because she is SO damn cool!)

Jewel Staite: Why watching Serenity makes me cry like a baby

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Over the Hump Day! We are one more day closer to the weekend, which, I’m sure, cannot get here fast enough for all of us, right? Meanwhile, there is a lot of cool news to share with you so let’s get into today’s update, shall we?

TELEVISION

Actress America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) will join the cast The Good Wife as Natalie, a graduate student who catches the eye of Eli Gold. She will be featured in a three-episode arc starting during February sweeps. The same episode will find comedian as a judge. (Zap2It and Entertainment Weekly)

As I posted earlier, The Big Bang Theory has been picked up for three more seasons by CBS. Congrats to the cast and crew on that BIG payday. (Twitter)

Actor Skeet Ulrich and actresses Regina Hall and Megan Boone are leaving the new NBC drama Law & Order: Lost Angeles, as part of a significant “creative overhaul,” but this behind-the-scenes drama is not expected to stop production, which is currently filming episode 12. The series received a full season pick-up in October. (Deadline and Tracy Phillips at Fancast)

TONIGHT’S TV SCHEDULE CHANGE: The NBC series Chase was to have its return tonight, but the network has bumped it one week later with the return now slated for January 19 at 9 PM. No reason was given for the change. (The Futon Critic)

Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) will appear in the new mid-season FOX comedy Breaking In as a crafty peddler who figures into a potential romantic triangle with the top-shelf computer hackers played by Odette (Yustman) Annable (Brothers & Sisters) and Bret Harrison (V and Reaper). Rumors still abound about Michael returning to Smallville before the series concludes its final season this May, but nothing has been confirmed. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Eddie Cibrian (Third Watch) will reprise his role of Ben Crowley on the NBC series Chase. He is expected to appear in the February 23 episode. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Paola Turbay (Cane and The Closer) has signed on to True Blood‘s fourth season. (Deadline and Megan Masters at TV Line)

Actress Ashley Johnson has joined the cast of the new AMC drama series The Killing as a recurring character. The series is a murder mystery that centers on Sarah (Mireille Enos), the lead homicide detective who investigates the murder of a young girl. Johnson will play the wife of suspect Bennet Ahmed (Branden Jay McLaren) who, sandbagged when Sarah (Enos) and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) show up at her apartment unannounced, tells a revealing story from Ahmed’s past. The series premieres on March 13. (Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Ben Lawson (The Deep End and the Aussie series Neighbours) has landed one of the two lead roles in the new USA Network pilot Wild Card, which is a witty drama about people behaving badly in Las Vegas and the lawyers who solve their problems. The Australian actor plays Will Garrett, a successful Wall Street attorney who could be living the American Dream but instead feels trapped in life (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

ONLINE SERIES

Kiefer Sutherland will follow up his critically-beloved run on the FOX drama 24 with a web series that will appear on Hulu this March. The online series is called The Confession. It will include 10 five-to-seven-minute webisodes with Sutherland as a hitman who has a theological discussion with a priest (John Hurt) about why his victims deserved to die. Much of the story plays out in action-packed flashbacks. Hope is not all lost for that 24 movie, as Sutherland says a big-screen version is still in the works and, in fact, he hopes to begin production within a year. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

CONDOLENCES

The remaining member of the Nelson family – famous for the long-running classic TV series Ozzie and Harriet – David Nelson – passed away on Monday at the age of 74 from a battle with colon cancer. (E! Entertainment Online)

ME: Deepest condolences are extended to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Awesome Full Theatrical ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ Trailer

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The front runners for the female lead in the upcoming movie Incarceron (based on the novel of the same name), which is to star Twilight hunk Taylor Lautner include Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone and the upcoming X-Men First Class) and Emma Watson (the Harry Potter franchise). Lautner is also expected to appear in an as-yet untitled spy thriller described as “The Bourne Identity for the next generation.” Lautner will appear in the thriller called Abduction that is to be out in theatres on September 23. (Jeff Sneider at The Wrap)

ME: For those who have seen either or both Tron and Country Strong, here is an article about actor Garrett Hedlund, who was the lead in Tron alongside Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde and appeared alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw and Leighton Meester in Country Strong:

Garrett Hedlund Realizes his Hollywood Dreams

Q&A SECTION (with Adam and Natalie at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: I could really use some Chuck scoop right about now. — Marcus

ADAM: Might Chuck soon be meeting his next big foe? I’m hearing that the show is casting a major recurring guest star, a sophisticated Oxford socialite whose father is a criminal mastermind.

Question: NCIS scoop, please! — Barry

ADAM: Who’s in the mood for a little romance? The show is looking to cast a sexy tomboy type who gambles online and plays laser tag. She’s smart, strong-willed and looking to get even with her scumbag ex-boyfriend. Perhaps she’ll find a new flame in one of the NCIS boys?

Question: Will Lisa turn against the Visitors this season on V? — Tara

NATALIE: Yes, and Diana (Jane Badler) will be instrumental in that process when she forms an alliance with her granddaughter. This will force Anna to expedite her plans for the human race. “She figures out it’s got to be now or never for her plans,” Morena Baccarin tells us. “The hybrid baby is an option, but there’s [another] option.” Person, place or thing? “Kind of all of the above,” Baccarin says with a laugh.

Question: So sad Life Unexpected I ending! Any scoop on next Tuesday’s two-hour finale? —James

Ausiello: The show isn’t going to let a little thing like cancellation prevent a certain plucky blond from receiving her high school diploma. I hear the swan song will jump forward two years to Lux’s high school graduation.

Question: I for one love the Torchwood storyline involving the entire human race becoming immortal. Tell me more! —Missy

Ausiello: All I’ll say is that Captain Jack’s own immortality will figure into the plot in a big way.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Greetings on a cold January day (even here in Southern California). Hope your work week is going well. I have quite a number of news items to share so let’s get right into today’s update:

TELEVISION

Fox has renewed their new comedy Raising Hope for a second season. (Twitter)

Actress Patricia Wettig has made her final appearance on Brothers & Sisters, although an insider says the door is being left open for her character Holly Harper to possibly return. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Meanwhile, actor Pedro Pascal (The Good Wife) is joining Brothers & Sisters in a potentially recurring role, playing Zach, a homeless war vet who Justin (Dave Annable) takes under his wing. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

The two-night series preview of the new FOX series Terra Nova will air on May 23 and 24 at 9 PM both nights. The series will officially debut this fall. The series is an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making, following an ordinary family embarking on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149 the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped, overcrowded and over polluted. With no known way to reverse the damage to the planet, scientists discover a portal to prehistoric Earth. This doorway leads to an amazing world, one that allows for a last-ditch effort to save the human race…a second chance to rebuild civilization and get it right this time. The cast includes Jason O’Mara, Stephen Lang, Shelley Conn, Landon Liboiron, Naomi Scott and newcomer Alana Mansour. [NOTE: See the following link for a first look at this series stars via new PR photos.] (The Futon Critic)

FIRST LOOK AT UPCOMING TV

First Look: The Cast of TERRA NOVA

ARTICLE ON UPCOMING TELEVISION

Day of the Dead: Inside Torchwood: Miracle Day

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

The Disney Channel movie called Lemonade Mouth (based on the book of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes) will debut on the cable network on March 25 at 8 PM. The movie focuses on an unlikely ensemble of five students – Olivia, Wen, Stella, Mohini and Charlie – who, after meeting in detention, gradually realize their shared musical connection and belief that it’s time for the students of Mesa High to stand up and be heard on things big and small. Ultimately, as they open up to each other and form friendships, they start a band — Lemonade Mouth –that soon resonates with students sidelined by the high school elite. However, not everyone in the school is ready to cheer them on, especially since the popular rock group Mudslide Crush is determined to maintain their headline status and win the coveted Rising Star music competition at Mesa High. The movie stars Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Hayley Kiyoko, Naomi Scott and newcomer Blake Michael. Co-stars include Tisha Campbell-Martin and Christopher McDonald. The soundtrack for this movie will be available on March 22. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

New Action-Filled Theatrical Trailer for TokyoPop’s ‘Priest’ Movie

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Michelle Pfeiffer will co-star with Chris Pine (as his widowed mother) in the upcoming box office movie Welcome to People. The movie is about an estranged son who returns home for his father’s funeral and must sort through his dad’s secret life. Elizabeth Banks plays Pine’s alcoholic half-sister and Olivia Wilde has been cast as Pine’s girlfriend. (Anthony Breznican at Entertainment Weekly)

Charlize Theron is no longer attached to the biopic J. Edgar (which is set to star Leonardo Di Caprio) – as she has officially signed to the upcoming movie Snow White and the Huntsman. Taking her place could be Naomi Watts or Amy Adams, but nothing has been confirmed yet on the recasting. Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) has joined the cast of this flick. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actors Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reprise their Lord of the Rings roles in The Hobbit. This news follows the announcement that Elijah Wood will play Frodo Baggins in the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien two-part adaptation. McKellan will again play Gandalf, while Serkis will portray Gollum, as both characters are vital to the tale of The Hobbit in which Gandalf recruits Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to join a quest to reclaim a dragon’s treasure, and Gollum possesses a powerful ring that comes to play a pivotal role. (Gina DiNunno at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Ron Livingston (Office Space) has joined the cast of two very different projects. First is the upcoming movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green (no details on this film yet) and the drama flick Ten Year, which follows a group of friends who reunite a decade after their high school graduation. Livingston will play the husband of Rosario Dawson’s character, who was Channing Tatum’s love interest back in school. Actor Max Minghella (The Social Network) has joined Ten Year, which also includes cast members Justin Long, Kate Mara, Anthony Mackie, Chris Pratt, Scott Porter, Jenna Dewan, Lynn Collins, Brian Geraghty and Oscar Isaac. (Jeff Sneider at The Wrap)

Actress Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and soon to be seen in the HBO series Game of Thrones) will be facing off against Karl Urban in the new adaptation of Judge Dredd, playing the villainous role of Madeline Madrigal (aka Ma-Ma), the leader of a gang who over run the Peach Tree City Block. (First Showing and Bleeding Cool)

Actor John Michael Higgins will appear in the movie We Bought a Zoo that follows a man (Matt Damon and his family who move into a mansion that includes the 30-acre Dartmoor Wildlife Park, home to over 200 animals. He will play a zoo inspector. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Brendan Fraser and Kristen Scott Thomas will star in the film Seconds of Pleasure, but there are no specific details on the movie as yet (Deadline and First Showing)

Tina Fey will star in the film Admission, an adaptation of the Jean Hanff Korelitz novel of the same name, which follows an admissions officer at Princeton and her relationship with a prospective student who may not be Ivy League material. (The Wrap and First Showing)

John Hawkes and Molly Parker have signed on to star in the indie film The Playroom that follows suburban parents of four in 1975 where their volatile teenage daughter (Olivia Harris) acts as surrogate mother to the younger children, who have created a make-believe world in their attic hideaway while the parents act out a sordid story below. (Variety and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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