Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Author Neil Gaiman will write a script for the current season of Doctor Who that features the return of the Cybermen, the notorious cyborg enemies of the Time Lord. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

Actor Ben Browder (Stargate SG1 and Farscape) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Arrow, playing Ted Gaynor, Diggle’s (David Ramsey) commanding officer from his first tour in Afghanistan, who now works as a bodyguard for Blackhawk Squad Protection Group in Starling City. (Eric Goldman at IGN)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Alimi Ballard (Numb3rs) has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot called Tropper that centers on a recently divorced female state trooper (Mira Sorvino) who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids. Her partner on the job is a widowed father who has a much more by-the-book approach to policing. Ballard will play Lt. Hollis Figgins. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) has been cast as the lead in the HBO Cold War spy drama pilot called The Missionary. The project is set in Berlin in the late 1960s, centering on Roy (Walker), a young American missionary who gets caught up in Cold War intrigue while helping a young woman escape East Berlin. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The CW is working with Oscar nominee Taylor Hackford (Ray) and Sera Gamble (former showrunner on Supernatural) for the Navy-themed pilot called Norfolk that would revolve around the lives and loves of the young people at the Norfolk Naval Station. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Clive Owen and actress Juliette Binoche will play the leads in the romantic drama Words And Pictures that follows the uneasy relationship between two very different teachers at a New England prep school. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online, Natalie Abrams and Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: I’ll take anything you’ve got on Supernatural! Please tell me Castiel isn’t dead! – Lily

Team Watch with Kristin: Breathe, Cas fans. It’ll be all right. In episode seven, you will see Cas again…and learn whether or not he’s alive.

Question: Got any Gibbs scoop on NCIS? — Vanessa

ADAM: You’ve heard that ER’s Alex Kingston is going to be guest-starring, yes? Well, surely you’ve also noticed that she’s a redhead, which means that she will definitely catch Gibbs’ eye as Miranda Pennebaker, Gibbs’ source on D.C.’s underbelly. “She is someone with a bit of a shady past who knows a lot about the underground sale of things,” executive producer Gary Glasberg says. In this case, it’s the selling of a teenage girl. “Gibbs turns to her for information,” Glasberg continues. “They clearly have a bit of a sordid past. It’s never really determined how far their past went, but there’s flirtation in the air. This is the first time that they are really working together on something.” If Cupid has his way, it’s likely that Kingston will recur on the show.

Question: So the mystery man is Henry’s baby daddy on Once Upon a Time? — Monica

NATALIE: Yes, it is definitely Neal Cassady, aka the man we saw in the opening moments of the premiere, who knocked up Emma, and that’s not the last time we’ll see him. “He obviously is posed with the possibility of coming back to Storybrooke because of the pigeon who brought him the little note,” Jennifer Morrison says. “So I think definitely there’s going to have to be a decision made on his part as to whether or not he decides to follow up on what he started 10 years ago.” Considering Morrison says she knew who the father was since the pilot, Neal is totally Bae, right?

Question: Got any Person of Interest spoilers? — Peter

ADAM: Would you settle for some exclusive casting intel? The show has cast 24 and Hawaii Five-0 alum Reiko Aylesworth. She will appear in this season’s ninth episode as Regina Vickers, a Secret Service agent with a hidden agenda. The role is just for one episode… for now.

Question: What is really going on with Olivia, Cyrus and that table of five on Scandal? — Lucy

NATALIE: You’ll soon learn why these people came together — and the reason behind the explosion is even more shocking than who Quinn Perkins turned out to be. However, someone may dig a little too deep for their own good, and it’s not who you expect.

Question: I gotta say, this new version of Dean Winchester on Supernatural leaves me downright tingly all over! Any chance you might have some news about what’s on the horizon for our deliciously messed up Purgatory escapee? —Gina

Ausiello: You thought he was getting deeper, Gina, but your favorite Winchester brother is actually going to become two-dimensional in the show’s upcoming cartoon-inspired episode. Supe fans already know that the outing will find ‘toon elements enmeshed with the real world; I can add that all of the deaths in the episode are cartoon tropes – such as anvils falling from the sky and people plummeting off ledges after hovering in mid-air for a few seconds. I also hear that Sam, Dean and Castiel will step inside an actual cartoon (think Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?). Finally, all of the Saturday-morning-style fun will take place in the season’s eighth episode.

Question: When will NCIS fans learn more about “Tony’s potential love interest”? Is there anything you can share? —Caroline

Ausiello: Allow me to defer to exec producer Gary Glasberg: “As we get into November sweeps, expect to see Tony and Ziva opening up to each other more, sharing some guarded memories that they both cherish. Tony will have some decisions to make as the season progresses, decisions that could leave him at a real emotional crossroads.”

Question: First off, I want to say a huge thank you. Your spoilers and scoops make the wait each week between shows bearable! But can you give us a little bit of Revenge? —Rosy

Ausiello: Revenge may be a dish best served cold, Rosy, but this Revenge scoop is too hot to hold back: The show is casting a hard-nosed judge, his wife and his right-hand man. The judge – who’s up for a big-time appointment — will visit the Hamptons for a charity award. Hmm, that wouldn’t be the best time for details about his seemingly proper wife’s past to come to light, would it? I don’t have definitive intel that the judge is somehow connected to the Graysons, but c’mon. And since you seem like a nice person, here’s a Bonus Scoop: I can tell you that a male high school friend of Jack’s, who’s now a cop, will arrive in town in the near future.

Question: Once Upon a Time scoop, please?! Maybe info on who Ethan Embry is playing? —Elyse

Ausiello: Officially, he’s playing a mysterious Storybrooke visitor. Unofficially, Embry fits the description of a character named Bennett that the show was recently casting. The mid-30s guy next door-type is sweet, charming, intelligent and funny — at least on the surface. Beneath the surface, he possesses a darkness, as well as a willingness to fight to the bitter end for his beliefs and (this is where things get interesting) to prove that his way of life is in the right. What does it all mean?!?!

Question: Why is Bree Turner MIA on Grimm? I thought I had read on your site that she was promoted to a series regular. So what’s going on? — Brian

Ausiello: After having a baby last month, Turner took a few episodes off (which is why her name was temporarily removed — operative word: temporarily!) from the opening credits. But she’s back in Portland now and shooting new episodes as Rosalee.

That’s it. Enjoy!