Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy over the hump day folks! How is your week progressing so far? Getting excited for the weekend? I bet you all are. In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Human Target is being moved yet again. The premiere will now air on November 17 at 8 PM. This move changes the show from Friday nights to Wednesday nights AND bumps the show back over a month from being aired (it was to be back on October 1). (The Futon Critic)

As announced yesterday afternoon, Fox has pulled the plug on Lone Star after two low-rated episodes. Reruns of Lie to Me will fill the show’s Monday-9 pm time slot beginning next week. (Spoiler TV)

Rachel Nichols (Alias) has been cast in a multiple-episode arc on Criminal Minds, where she will play FBI cadet Ashley Seager. She is slated to appear in three episodes. (Deadline and Televisionary)

Izabella Miko (Coyote Ugly) will appear in a five-episode arc on the upcoming midseason NBC superhero drama The Cape. (Deadline and Televisionary)

Catherine Dent (The Shield) will appear in at least two episodes of NCIS. She will play Whitney Sharp, a former NCIS agent who shares a past with Ducky. Both of these episodes will air during November sweeps. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

The Hallmark Channel movie The Santa Incident will debut on December 7 at 8 PM. The movie stars Ione Skye (Private Practice and Say Anything) and Greg Germann (Ally McBeal) [among others] in a movie about Homeland Security’s Asymmetrical Threats Division has unknowingly targeted Santa Claus for piloting an unidentified aircraft and flouting national sovereignty. Before fully identifying the target, their agent Ross fires a heat-seeking missile into Father Christmas’ dash wings. His reindeer rocked, his jingle bells jangled, Santa crashes to Earth, where he is rescued by a couple of kids and nursed back to health by their mom Joanna (Skye). Erickson (Germann) and Cunningham, a pair of bumbling secret agents have also homed in on Santa’s position, and they are determined to make Kris Kringle pay for their looking bad in a prior botched anti-alien interdiction. (The Futon Critic)

DVD RELEASE

Life Unexpected

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men and Angel) will star as the father of Amanda Seyfried’s character in the sci-fi box office movie formerly known as I’m.mortal. The story is set in a society where people engineered to stop ageing at 25-years-old and time has become the currency of the realm. The wealthy are practically immortal while the majority of the populous struggles to bank what extra time they can. Justin Timberlake plays a ghetto rebel wrongly accused of murder who is forced to go into hiding with a beautiful and rich hostage (Seyfried). They soon begin a steamy romance. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Tobey Maguire is set to both produce and star in Good People, which is based on the book by Marcus Sakey, which follows a Chicago couple who come across $400,000 and do whatever they can to try and keep it. (Production Weekly and Dark Horizons)

Jared Harris (Mad Men) [and son of the late Richard Harris] will appear as Professor Moriarty in the sequel to Sherlock Holmes. (Latino Review and First Showing)

Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) has joined the cast of the romantic comedy BFF and Baby starring alongside Krysten Ritter and Kate Bosworth. The story is about two best friends who fight to maintain normalcy in their lives after one of them (Ritter) gets pregnant and has a baby. Ritter wrote the script. (Variety and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

‘I Am Number Four’

Must Watch: Second Full Trailer for Universal’s Sci-Fi Skyline

Q&A SECTION (with the TV Gurus from TV Guide)

Question: What’s this I hear about Brennan solving her own murder on Bones? — Maggie

ADAM: Well, Brennan obviously isn’t the corpse, but her resemblance to the victim is uncanny. Executive producer Stephen Nathan says the experience will be educational for Bones. “Brennan gets to look at herself objectively, which is something she’s never really been able to do,” he says. “She sees herself in a new light, and that obviously will change her character to a certain extent.”

Question: So many answers on The Event this week! I can’t help but think they’re pulling a fast one on us. Have any scoop? — Martin

MICKEY: Go with your gut. We’ll soon find out that at least one of the most fundamental parts of The Event’s narrative is a big fat lie. Further, Sophia won’t tolerate any leaks, even if people have to die to protect her secrets.

Question: What else can you tell me about Katee Sackhoff’s role on CSI? — Andrew

ADAM: She’s a tough, stubborn woman, and that initially puts her at odds with George Eads’ Nick Stokes. But she slowly wins him over. “She plays her character with a lot of bravado, which is something I think Nick really likes to be around,” Eads tells us. Do we see sparks? “For Nick to have a relationship with anyone on the show, the genesis of it has to be mutual respect,” Eads says, noting that the length of Sackhoff’s arc has yet to be finalized. For his part, Eads is ready for something serious: “I would like to see her again.”

Question: Poor Artie! Will he find another love on Glee? —Amalia

MICKEY: I wouldn’t call it love exactly, but on an upcoming episode, Artie will make a connection with a Cheerio that will make him feel special for a short while.

Question: Help! I can’t tell if the werewolves are the good guys or the bad guys on The Vampire Diaries. — Cory

MICKEY: I can’t either, but perhaps a new addition to the cast will clarify everyone else’s relative goodness. He’s a man of few words who allows his piercing eyes to do the talking for him. I’m hearing him compared to the Haitian on Heroes, which means those peepers are probably good for more than just lookin’.

Question: I really enjoyed the Brothers & Sisters premiere. Is this really the last season? — Katie

ADAM: Despite a reduced episode order and some significant cast exits, executive producer David Marshall Grant isn’t planning on going anywhere. “I’ve approached the show as if it’s going to go on and on. I take my cue from the studio and the network, and they’ve given me no indication — not even a hint or a heads-up — that [cancellation is] a possibility,” he says. “If and when I hear different, I will adjust and make sure that we take these Walkers off the air in the style that they deserve. But I have heard nothing to suggest that I should be planning for that.”

Question: I know it’s a ways off, but can you give me any V scoop? — Kara

MICKEY: A major female character will lose her head in an early episode — which is to say, she’ll be beheaded. I only mention the violent act because it will be as revealing as it is fatal.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Between the record heat wave that hit Southern California, the sore throat and head cold I seem to be coming down with (YEAH!! – not) all the shows to watch and the articles to write, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed; but the news doesn’t rest so here is what I found for today:

TELEVISION

Sonya Braga (Alias and American Family) will appear on Brothers & Sisters as the mother of Gilles Marini’s character on the Thanksgiving episode that is to air on November 14. (William Keck at TV Guide)

The USA Network has picked up White Collar, Royal Pains and Psych for another season each. Royal Pains has received a 16 to 18 episode order with Psych and White Collar both getting 16 episode orders. (LA Times)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Treat Williams (Everwood) will star opposite Rachael Carpani in the Lifetime drama pilot Against the Wall, which is a family drama set in Chicago following policewoman Abby Kowalski (Carpani), who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department’s Internal Affairs division. Williams will play Abby’s dad, an old-school career Chicago cop who is rough around the edges but has a real soft spot for his only daughter until she tells him of her new gig, news that makes him feel hurt and angry. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC Family Channel has greenlit three pilots, including the following:

The drama Nine Lives which follows Chloe King who is looking forward to celebrating her 16th birthday with her friends and single mother, just like every other year until she starts developing heightened abilities (super speed, agility, hearing…claws), and discovers she’s being pursued by a mysterious figure. She soon learns she’s part of an ancient race who have been hunted by human assassins for millennia – and that she may be their only hope for ultimate survival. Casting on the project is yet to be announced. The drama is based on the book series The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Celia Thomson.

The drama Switched at Birth, which tells the story of two teen girls who discover they were accidentally switched at birth. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and two brothers, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing as a child due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a poor neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls. Casting for the project is yet to be announced.

The drama Strut, which revolves around a showgirl named Roxy who marries a stranger after a wild evening, and overnight finds herself living in a small town in Texas and reinventing the high school’s struggling drill team. Roxy uses her background as a dancer to connect with the group of high school outsiders, specifically awkward teen Meg. When Roxy takes it upon herself to shape them into a bona fide strutting team of performers, she turns the town upside down in the process. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Rachel Bilson and Josh Schwartz (the man behind The O.C. and Chuck) are teaming up for a new project at NBC. The project is to be called Ghost Angeles with Bilson starring as a young woman in Los Angeles who talks to the dead and helps out ghosts as they help her. (Deadline and TV Guide)

ME: So let me get this straight? NBC cancels Medium while CBS picks up Medium but at the same time CBS let’s Ghost Whisperer go and now NBC picks up this new ghost-inspired show. Does that just sound ridiculous or what? Oh wait, that’s how the networks work…. Why bother trying to figure it out, right?

RATINGS RESULTS

The following list is from E! Entertainment Online and shows how the new fall series (the dramas that is) are stacking up so far this season:

Hawaii Five-0 (14.2 million, 11th place)
Blue Bloods (13 million, 17th place)
The Defenders (12.2 million, 23rd place)
The Event (10.9 million, 27th place)
Detroit 1-8-7 (9.3 million, 35th place)
Undercovers (8.7 million, 40th place)
Chase (7.3 million, 48th place)
My Generation (5.2 million, 73rd place)
Outlaw (4.9 million, 78th place)
The Whole Truth (4.8 million, 79th place)
Lone Star (4.1 million, 88th place)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Casting News for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn

Josh Holloway (Lost) is in final negotiations to act as a member of the Impossible Mission Force for the box office sequel Mission: Impossible 4. The cast already includes Tom Cruise, of course, as well as Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton,Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg. (Live Feed at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: First Teaser Trailer for the Coen Bros’ True Grit!

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at Fancast)

Question: Do you have any hints as to why Robert Wagner is coming back to ‘NCIS‘? – Carlee

Mitovich: I turn this first question over to the Hintmaster himself, Shane Brennan. “R.J. Wagner’s return as the charming Anthony DiNozzo Sr. recaptures all the fun and chaos that resulted from his last visit,” the ‘NCIS’ boss tells the Big Tease. What’s more, he says the encore “reveals an emotionally charged moment between father and son that’s not to be missed.”

Question: I’m obsessed with what ‘Fringe’s Anna Torv said about Olivia finding a new ally in the alternate universe. Did she give any other clues? – Deb

Mitovich: Did Anna? No. John Noble? Maybe. When I questioned alt-Broyles’ allegiance to the Secretary of Defense, Noble responded, “Broyles is a strong character. Now, how much he’ll go along with things is to be revealed.”

Question: Are we going to see more of the hybrid baby when ‘V‘ returns? – Susan

Mitovich: “Ohhh yeah,” exec producer Steve Pearlman told me during my visit to the ABC series’ Vancouver set last week. “You’ll see the hybrid in Episode 1″ (premiere date TBD). As for the little one’s appearance, “It won’t necessarily look very human,” he teased.

Question: Did your visit to the ‘V‘ set turn up any scoop on what “red sky” is or does? – Greg

Mitovich: Though Elizabeth Mitchell wouldn’t spill any specifics, she said the answer “definitely satisfied me” and it “happens in the first five minutes…. all kinds of really horrifying things.” And yet, somehow, Anna will spin it as a good thing for humanity. Somewhere in outer space lays a very savvy publicist.

Question: Please give me some scoop on ‘The Good Wife‘! – Karen

Mitovich: Oh, tonight’s season premiere is a fine hour. That “intimate” scene that made headlines a few weeks back? Well-played. Also, the way Kalinda meets her new rival (’FNL’s Scott Porter) is pretty awesome, as is their ongoing prickly banter (he knows a secret of hers that she very much doesn’t like him knowing); Eli acquires a new cohort; Michael Ealy (’Sleeper Cell’) fits in smoothly as a new partner with big ideas; and Will has been named one of the area’s most eligible bachelors (ouch, Alicia!).

Question: Do the folks at ‘Human Target‘ feel like they’re shooting a James Bond film with every episode? Because it sure feels like one! – Joel

Mitovich: Exec producer Matt Miller must agree. “Between our incredible stunt coordinator (Emmy nominee Dean Cho) and our producer-director Steve Boyum, who spent the majority of his career as a stunt man, we have the best stunts on television,” he boasts. And what sort of explodey goodness is on tap for Season 2, premiering this Friday at 8/7c? “For our eighth episode, our kind of ‘holiday ‘episode, we really wanted to destroy a mall,” Miller says. “We wanted a cool set piece where Chance is just wreaking havoc in a mall.” I suggested the episode title “A Very Human Target Christmas” – cross fingers!

Question: Will ‘Smallville’s Clark ever say to Lois the words, “I love you”? – Nicole

Mitovich: First, let’s ask Clark himself. “I would think so,” Tom Welling told me Saturday night at the show’s 200th episode party. “I’m not sure what exactly they have in store for [the final season], but Lois is definitely a part of Clark’s future.” And now, the executive producers. “There will be epic romance, that we can say,” teases Brian Peterson. Adds Kelly Souders: “Definitely watch the 200th episode” (airing Oct. 15).

Question: How about some scoop on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’s Meredith? – Kazzer

Mitovich: This is the week Mer tells Derek that she had a miscarriage. But also on the horizon are some powerhouse scenes on the sisterly front. As the aftermath of the shooting continues to play out and “Meredith begins mothering everybody, Lexie is like, ‘Hey, what about me? I don’t understand where you’ve been for me in this,’” Chyler Leigh previews. That leads to “several really great scenes between the two of us, where we really define what our relationship is.”

Question: Any info on Jensen Ackles‘ ‘Supernatural‘ directorial debut? – DeanGirl1 via Comments

Mitovich: If by info you mean raves, here’s one castmate’s take on Jensen’s turn behind the camera: “The truth of the matter is he’s a natural,” Mark Sheppard (Crowley) tells Fancast. “He was extraordinarily well-prepared, and he’s very good at getting what he wants. It was fun for me and Jim [Beaver] to….” To what? Frak, Mark caught himself and stopped short of spoiling. But he did share this about the Crowley/Bobby teaser shown at Comic-Con this summer: “That is a fabulous, really fun scene – and that’s not all of the scene either. There’s a lot of stuff going on.”

Question: You seem to be the only source of ‘Make It Or Break It‘ news – whatcha got? – Irena

Mitovich: What I’ve got is a correction to my scoop on Sean Maher’s guest-starring role. Turns out the ‘Firefly’ alum is going to be playing a National Gymnastics Organization official who starts poking around Emily’s life. Though I’m sure he would’ve done fine as a gymnast.

Question: Last week’s ‘Terriers‘ – WTF?! – Joe

Mitovich: I’m assuming that’s a request for scoop on the shadowy figure seen slinking into the crawl space of Hank’s house? That out-of-left field mystery “is resolved pretty quickly,” says Donal Logue. “You’ll find out who it is, and to me a really cool aspect of this show is what it means getting to work with that person.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Lee Ann

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Hey All,

It’s the start of another week and if you’re living on the West Coast, we’re experiencing a bit of a heat wave something that was lacking over the summer and not all that much appreciated at the end of September.

But, there is a lot of news to share with all of you and good TV to look forward to tonight so hopefully that levels out the playing field. Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Newcomer Darren Criss (who has guest starred on Eastwick and Cold Case) has joined the FOX series Glee as a new gay student named Blaine, who hails from a rival glee club called the Dalton Academy Warblers. He will befriend Kurt (Chris Colfer), but their relationship will remain platonic for now. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly)

Aimee Garcia (Trauma) will appear in the mid-season series Off the Map, playing a local who falls for Zach Gilford’s (Friday Night Lights) character, who is a plastic surgeon in a remote medical clinic in South America. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Jorge Garcia (Lost) will appear on an episode of How I Met Your Mother, playing Blitz a friend of Ted, Marshall and Lily from college who has the uncanny ability to leave a room right before things finally get interesting. Blitz has been cursed with this regrettable phenomenon for over twelve years. (Korbi at Give Me My Remote)

Oprah Winfrey has announced that she is going to reunite the cast of Sound of Music for the first time in 45 years on her October 29 show. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer will be in attendance as well as the Von Trapp kids: Charmian Carr (Liesl), Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich), Heather Menzies-Urich (Louisa), Duane Chase (Kurt), Angela Cartwright (Brigitta), Debbie Turner (Marta), and Kym Karath (Gretl). (Tim Stack at Entertainment Weekly)

Ed Decter and John Strauss have officially signed on as show runners for the USA Network series In Plain Sight. The duo replaces John McNamara, who departed the series due to medical issues. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TV POLL

Your Turn: Pick Fall TV’s Best and Worst!

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Showtime has signed up some big names for new development projects at the cable network, including Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards, who are working on a drama project together as well as Jeff Daniels and Timothy Busfield, who are collaborating on another project called Happily Ever After, which would star Daniels as a Michigan factory worker who quits his job to pursue music. The as-yet untitled Ruffalo/Edwards project is to be set in the morally ambiguous world of media crisis management and is to be centered on two partners running such a firm. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

Actress Gloria Stuart – best known for her role as the elder Rose Dawson in the box office hit Titanic – has passed away at the age of 100. She started in films in 1932, taking roles in horror classics like Frankenstein and The Invisible Man. She became a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933, but retired from the big screen in the 1940’s. (The Washington Post and First Showing)

ME: Rest in peace, Ms. Stuart. Condolences to her family, friends and fans.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The following are the box office results for the top 10 movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations at E! Entertainment Online:

1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, $19 million
2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, $16.3 million
3. The Town, $16 million
4. Easy A, $10.7 million
5. You Again, $8.3 million
6. Devil, $6.5 million
7. Resident Evil: Afterlife, $4.9 million
8. Alpha and Omega, $4.7 million
9. Takers, $1.7 million
10. Inception, $1.2 million

British actor Stephen Fry (Bones) has joined the cast of the upcoming sequel Sherlock Homes, playing Mycroft Holmes, brother of Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.) and a key power player in the British Government. The movie is expected to be released next Christmas. (The Hollywood News and Dark Horizons)

Jason Reitman (Director of Up in the Air) has a new project called Young Adult, based on a script by Diablo Cody, about a ghostwriter (Charlize Theron) of young adult novels who returns to her hometown to reconnect with high-school friends. Patton Oswalt has joined the cast and Patrick Wilson is negotiating a deal to join the cast as well. (24 Frames and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Indie Trailer Sunday: Emily Blunt & Rupert Grint in Wild Target

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

Daniel Stern (Home Alone) and Matt Frewer (Eureka) will star as former best friends who are dueling neighbors whose Christmas decorating rivalry gets a bit out of hand in the Hallmark Channel movie Battle of the Bulbs. The movie will debut on December 18 at 8 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Victoria Justice (Victorious) will appear in the Nickelodeon movie The Boy Who Cried Werewolf on October 23 at 8 PM. Justice will star as Jordan Sands, a shy and unpopular teen who, through an accident, is transformed into a werewolf during a visit to Wolfsberg, Romania where her family has inherited an ancient castle. Brooke Shields (Lipstick Jungle) and Brooke D’Orsay (Royal Pains and Drop Dead Diva) co-star. (The Futon Critic)

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

Question: I was deeply upset to learn Lone Star was a ratings flop. Pretty much every TV critic out there absolutely raved about it and declared it the best new drama of the fall, and the must-watch show of the new season. I was impressed, though not blown away, and ready for the show to grow on me some more. But with such abysmal ratings — only 4 million people watched? Really? That would have been bad even for Heroes last year — is the show that critics were declaring fall’s best new drama going to fall victim to being the first new show of the season to be canceled? How long is it likely going to stick around? A couple of weeks, or a few months, or a full season? If Fox does decide to cancel it prematurely, is there a chance that it might find a new home somewhere on cable, where it would feel much more at home? I really did enjoy the show, but I just don’t feel like getting too attached is a very good idea at this point. — Alex

Matt Roush: You weren’t the only one upset. Anyone with a stake in networks continuing to attempt quality, non-formulaic programming has a right to be discouraged at the low numbers for Lone Star, which seemed to fulfill a self-fulfilling prophecy about the most challenging work only being done on cable. Lone Star has the feel of an AMC or FX show, in part because it’s built around an anti-hero (albeit a charming and sympathetic one). It’s original, it’s intriguing, and it very well may be doomed. A lot depends on what happens this week. And while the show’s new-to-TV creator Kyle Killen makes a valiant plea to viewers in his blog, and while I’m tempted to make a comparison to another Texas-set series — Friday Night Lights — to get people to tune in to this underdog, it’s pretty clear this is going to be an uphill battle. Mondays are murder — possibly even tougher than Thursdays, which no longer has a reality juggernaut on the night like Dancing With the Stars presents on Mondays.

I would like to think Fox would keep the show on the air a few weeks to see if word of mouth helps build a slightly healthier cult audience, but it’s a cutthroat ratings environment and I won’t be surprised if it’s benched quickly if the numbers stay this low. (It would take a miracle for the show to make it until sweeps, although stranger things have happened.) Fox has the option of trying to relaunch it on a less treacherous night, but I’m not sure how they get any momentum for that. And where to put it? Fridays? The likelihood of a cable network picking it up is next to nil. FX, the most logical candidate, has a pretty full stable of shows and isn’t in the business of picking up castoffs. And the show doesn’t seem established enough yet to earn a save from DirecTV (although I didn’t see the Damages rescue coming either). With Lone Star, I’m hoping against hope for the best and fearing the worst.

Question: I enjoyed reading the letter and your comments about relationships on shows and the “Moonlighting curse”. So many shows seem to fall into the same tired story line. One show that has been refreshingly different is Warehouse 13. The main characters of Myka and Pete seem to actually enjoy each other’s company. So many shows either have the character flirting with each other, like on Castle, or begrudgingly working together, as in The Mentalist. Myka and Pete almost have a sister-brother relationship that is so different than most other shows. If the show is doing well and comes back for another season, I hope the writers don’t mess up the best aspect of the show. — J.C.

Matt Roush: Totally agree. The characters on Warehouse 13 actually seem to root for each other to be happy with other people. Rarely turns out well, but the show’s young still, and as we learned with Pete and his veterinarian girlfriend, the job tends to get in the way. (And not to worry. Warehouse 13 will be back next year. That’s a no-brainer.) The affection Myka and Pete have for each other is as genuine as their exasperation over their clashing personality traits. Their sparring is part of the fun of the show, and it’s refreshing to not have it be clouded by the question of when they’re going to fall into bed together.

Question: Don’t you just love how on Terriers, they have a happy, healthy couple like Britt & Katie? Sure there is conflict in the relationship, but because the characters are fully fleshed-out people who have different opinions from time to time. Writing is NOT centered on “will they or won’t they”, or how dumb he is/how shrill-bitchy she is. — Liz

Matt Roush: Again, couldn’t agree more. Even when Britt revealed he burglarized Katie before he actually knew her, she eventually took that in stride. Terriers looks at all of its flawed characters with such affection, it’s part of what I admire about this show — and, for that matter, it’s a tone that distinguished Justified, making these my two favorite FX dramas at the moment. But the Britt and Katie relationship is a winner, no question.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

The end of another week is finally here and October is nearly upon us. Where does the time go?

Meanwhile, there is a quite a bit of news to share with all of you:

NEWS

Andrew Lloyd Webber has finally found his Wizard of Oz: Stage legend Michael Crawford — who originated the role of the Phantom in Webber’s Phantom of the Opera 24 years ago — will take on the role as the ruler of Oz in the forthcoming London-based production. This is a rather buzzed-about London production that finds the British Webber producing and writing new songs with regular collaborator Tim Rice. The show’s Dorothy was found via the BBC talent-search show Over the Rainbow. (Variety and Tanner Stransky at Entertainment Weekly)

TELEVISION

As I posted yesterday in a separate item, Lifetime has renewed its two hit show Army Wives and Drop Dead Diva for their fifth and third seasons, respectively, to premiere in 2011, during which 13 all-new episodes of each program will air on the network. (The Futon Critic)

The CW has ordered 6 more scripts for both their new show Hellcats and long-running series One Tree Hill. (The Futon Critic)

Marc Blucas (Buffy) has landed the lead role opposite Callie Thorne (Rescue Me) in the USA Network pilot Necessary Roughness, which centers on a female shrink (Thorne) who becomes the therapist for a professional football team. After succeeding beyond expectations, she is sought after by other athletes, musicians, politicians, and those living in the spotlight who all want her unique brand of tough-love therapy. Blucas will play the team’s hunky trainer and a romantic foil for Thorne. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Victor Garber (Alias and Eli Stone) has joined the USA Network pilot A Legal Mind as a senior lawyer (Twitter)

Summer Glau (Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has signed on to guest star in Chuck as one of the many versions of Greta, the Buy More’s rotating undercover agent. She will appear in the eighth episode. Other upcoming Gretas include Stacy Keibler and Isaiah Mustafa. Olivia Munn originated the role in Monday’s season premiere. Glau will next appear opposite David Lyons in the NBC midseason drama The Cape. (Michael Auseillo at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Courteney Cox and David Arquette are reportedly close to landing a new drama at ABC centering on the stories of 911 operators. No other details were given. (The Futon Critic)

CONDOLENCES

1950s pop singer Eddie Fisher (and father of Star Wars alum Carrie Fisher) passed away last night from complications related to hip surgery at the age of 82. Fisher was married to well-known actresses Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and Connie Stevens during his lifetime, creating one of the biggest romantic scandals when in 1959 he left then wife (and America’s sweetheart) Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor. He was also the father of Tricia Leigh Fisher and actress Joely Fisher. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

ME: Consider Fisher and his scandal just like that of Brad Pitt leaving Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie. Only imagine it 10 times bigger than the coverage that scandal received and you’ll just touch on how big that scandal was at the time.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Chloe Moretz (Let Me In and Hit Girl) will take the lead role of Emily the Strange in the adaptation of the cult fave Dark Horse comic series of the same name. (Deadline and First Showing)

Kimberly Peirce (Director of Boys Don’t Cry and Stop-Loss) has been chosen by Universal Pictures to direct Wicked Lovely, the adaptation of the first book in the best-selling young adult fantasy series by Melissa Marr. The film centers on a teenage girl, Aislinn, who has seen dangerous faeries her entire life and must go against everything she was taught to confront a world she was raised to fear. (Nicole Sperling at Entertainment Weekly)

Former Veronica Mars star, Kristen Bell, has told The Hollywood Reporter that she would self-finance a feature film version of her dearly departed noir drama IF Warner Bros. would release the rights to Veronica Mars. At this point, though, Warner Bros. feels they will not make any money out of a film version and will not release the movie rights. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter and Televisionary)

Emma Watson (Harry Potter franchise) is in negotiations to join the box office movie My Week With Marilyn, which is based on a diary by Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), a young actor who worked for Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) when the veteran actor shepherded Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) around London while she shot The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956. Clark and Marilyn shared many confidences and became close despite her recent marriage to playwright Arthur Miller. Emma will play Lucy, a wardrobe assistant working behind the scenes during the making of the film who has a few dates with Clark. Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia), Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench (among others) co-star. (The Daily Mail and Dark Horizons)

Warner Bros. has snapped up a sci-fi spec script dubbed Expulsion by mystery writer Gregg Hurwitz and set it up with Brad Weston. The story centers on a small band of survivors escaping to a planet beyond the solar system after a terrorist attack destroys Earth. (Dave McNary at Variety)

Billy Zane (Titanic) is to produce and direct the project Photismos (the working title) [which means illumination] is about the relationship between a young man and his uncle and will touch on philosophy, theology, Pythagoras’ theories, geometry….and Frisbees. (Nick Holdsworth at Variety)

AJ Michalka (Secretariat) has joined the cast of the J.J. Abrams movie Super 8, which includes cast members Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler and Ron Eldard. (Brian Warmoth at MTV Movies Blog)

Pixar has named its first female director, Brenda Chapman, to direct and write the animated film Brave, which is due out in June 2012. The story follows Merida, a tomboyish royal with a love of archery. After a fight with her mom, Merida makes a decision with some major repercussions for her father’s kingdom. Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, and Julie Walters are all expected to provide voices for the film. (The Hollywood Reporter and Breia Brissey at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech Official Trailer

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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Hey All,

Another big night of TV is coming up tonight with new episodes of The Vampire Diaries and Nikita on the CW as well as the returns of Bones and Fringe on FOX and CSI and The Mentalist on CBS. There is also the debut of the new show My Generation and the returns of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice all on ABC. Enjoy the viewing.

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

TELEVISION

Jon Seda (The Pacific and Homicide: Life on the Street) has joined the cast of the HBO drama Treme as a series regular, playing a politically connected developer and venture capitalist from Dallas, who becomes involved in the renewal efforts in post-Katrina New Orleans. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Jason Wiles (Third Watch and Persons Unknown) will guest star on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in an upcoming episode. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) will guest star in at least one upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory as an FBI agent assigned to conduct a background check on Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) when he needs high-level clearance for a new project. (Matt Mitovich at Fancast)

Showtime has officially announced the debut date for their new shows Shameless and Episodes as well as the return of Californication. All three shows will air on January 9, starting at 9 PM with Californication followed by Episodes and Shameless closing the night at 10 PM. (Showtime and Televisionary)

Serina Swan (Smallville) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Supernatural, playing a news reporter chronicling an unsettling series of suicides. She is to appear in the fourth episode of the new season, which returns starting tomorrow night. (Matt Mitovich at Fancast and Televisionary)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

Jacqueline Bisset will star in the Hallmark Channel movie An Old Fashioned Christmas on December 11 at 8 PM, reprising her role of Isabella Crawford in this sequel to the movie An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving that came out in 2008. This sequel continues the narrative of Isabella (Bisset) and Tilly (Catherine Steadman of The Tudors) traveling the globe so the wealthy grandmother can teach her talented writer/granddaughter the nuances of character development and refined living. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The new development projects by J.J. Abrams have been picked up. His Alcatraz project, which he is working on with Elizabeth Sarnoff (Lost) has been picked up as a pilot by FOX. The show is about the mysteries and secrets of the most infamous prison of all time. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Meanwhile, his yet-to-be-named Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn (both stars on Lost) series has been given a pilot commitment by ABC. (Vulture)

The new pilot Exit Strategy from Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (the men behind Fringe and the new Hawaii Five-0) has received a pilot commitment from FOX. The series is described as a high octane procedural set in the world of CIA agents who are sent in to “fix” operations gone bad. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

A period racing drama called Kings of Speed is being developed for the cable station Starz by Wolfgang Petersen and Ron Shelton. This will potentially be a ten-hour limited series focusing on the international automobile racing circuit of the 1950s and 19960s, Enzo Ferrari, and the underground car culture of Southern California. (Variety and Televisionary)

BOX OFFICE

Elizabeth Banks has joined the cast of the crime thriller Man on a Ledge, starring Sam Worthington as a cop falsely imprisoned who escapes after being let out for his father’s funeral and stands on a hotel ledge threatening suicide. At the same time his brother (Jamie Bell) plans the heist of a jewelry store across the street while his brother’s actions are keeping everyone occupied. Banks will play the NYPD crisis negotiator who tries to talk the cop, with whom she has a past relationship, down from his precarious perch. (Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Check Out the Newest Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer!

Watch: ‘Mrs. Peppercorn’s Magical Reading Room’ Early Teaser

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: I think you’ve been a little stingy with The Vampire Diaries scoop. How about some enlightenment? —Robin

Ausiello: How about some casting scoop? She Spies alum (and season 7 American Idol almost-finalist) Natashia Williams has landed the role of Lucy, a mysterious hipster who possesses a fun swagger.

Question: Castle scoop, please? —Ellen

Ausiello: Scrubs: Med School alum Michael Mosley will be guest-starring in an episode tentatively scheduled to air in November. No details on who he’s playing, though.

Question: Okay, so in order for me to make it ’till Thursday, I need some Grey’s Anatomy scoop—specifically on Mer/Der. —Olivia

Ausiello: By the time Meredith tells Derek about her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage in next week’s episode, she will have kept both secrets for a grand total of three months. Why wait so long? “The man was shot and he’s already feeling [responsible] for getting a bunch of people killed,” explains series creator Shonda Rhimes. “So for her to tell him that the shooting also caused her miscarriage seems a little bit cruel. He doesn’t need one more thing to worry about.” Makes sense to me!

Question: I’d love a little Grey’s Anatomy scoopbit. —Christine

Ausiello: Yet another Buffy grad is checking into Seattle Grace. Amber Benson (ex-Tara) will guest star in this season’s seventh episode as the estranged daughter of one of Cristina’s patients.

Question: Any scoop on Ziva’s storyline on NCIS? —Jennifer

Ausiello: During November sweeps, Ziva “comes face-to-face with her father for the first time since her return from Israel,” reveals exec producer Shane Brennan. “It’s an emotion-charged reunion in a two-part episode that also reveals much about the enigmatic Eli David and one of the other team members.”

Question: I am just wondering about NCIS: Los Angeles and the status of Peter Cambor and his character Nate; in the premiere episode he’s only listed as a special guest star. What’s going on? —Kevin

Ausiello: You’ll get your answer in next week’s episode.

Question: A Brothers & Sisters scoop ahead of this weekend’s season premiere? —Kelly

Ausiello: Justin the golden child will replace Justin the hothead screw-up this season. “Justin returns from Afghanistan a very different Justin,” reveals exec producer David Marshall Grant. “We all felt that it was time for him to grow up. He becomes a much (stronger) and a much more helpful force in the Walker family. I don’t think Justin is going to be the problem anymore as much as he might be the solution.”

Question: I’m a Charice fan and was wondering when we’ll see her again on Glee? —Mauruce

Ausiello: Probably not until after Sectionals in January. That girl’s got pipes to spare!

Question: What can you tell us about the 200th episode of Smallville. Rumor has it there is going to be a major Clois moment in that episode. —Lisa

Ausiello: I can confirm that the final shot in the episode will drive Clois fans bonkers. I can also confirm that Kristin Kreuk will make a cameo appearance… sort of. The landmark episode contains a Lana flashback.

Question: Is there any news at all about the Pushing Daisies comic books? —Eric

Ausiello: Here’s an update from Bryan Fuller himself: “Issue no. 1 will hopefully be out in early 2011, issue no. 2 is being colored as we speak, and issue no. 3 is being written. Our Emmy-Award winning composer Jim Dooley and I have been talking about giving the audience a multi-media experience with the comic—specifically a score. We have no idea whether we can actually afford to do an actual Pushing Daisies comic soundtrack (because the cast has agreed to sing songs and those licensing fees are expensive), but Jim has already started composing musical cues that we will either release officially or stream for free online when the comic book is published. I’ve already heard the track for Lee Pace’s cover and it’s fantastic.”

Question: How about a Friday Night Lights spoiler? —Steve

Ausiello: In the fifth episode of the new season, the wife of a college TA screams the following words in a crowded library: “Julie Taylor is a whore!”

Question: I just saw the premiere of The Event, and it was so good! Do you have any scoops? —Marie-Eve

Ausiello: I just watched next week’s episode and was completely satisfied with both the quality and quantity of the answers we got. In addition to learning what happened to the plane and its inhabitants, we find out what turned Scott Patterson into the pilot from hell and who exactly The Others (a.k.a. Laura Innes & Co.) are. Bonus scoops: A rather pivotal character from the premiere is murdered and someone else is not who he/she claims to be.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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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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Hey All,

Well folks, the BIG week has arrived. Tonight starts the season or series premieres for a great majority of the major networks’ shows and it’s going to be insane to keep pace with all the shows. Rev up those DVR’s and make sure you figure out what to watch, record or view online at a later time because it’s gonna be one hell of a ride.

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

TELEVISION

Actor Andy Whitfield is departing the Starz TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand again due to his cancer diagnosis. Even though he was in remission and returned to the show, that is not the case now. Best wishes are extended to Whitfield during this difficult time. (E! Entertainment Online)

Peter Coyote (last seen in FlashForward) will recur in the new fall NBC series Law & Order: Los Angeles, playing the District Attorney overseeing Peter Morales (Alfred Molina) and Joe Dekker (Terrence Howard). The series will debut on September 29 at 10 PM. (Matt Mitovich at Fancast)

Gwyneth Paltrow will be appearing in two episodes of Glee in November, playing a substitute teacher and possible love interest (of sorts) for Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). She will sing and dance in the show too. (Kristin at E! Entertainment Online)

Oded Fehr (The Mummy and Resident Evil franchises) will guest star in V when it returns to ABC this fall. He will play Eli Cohn, an ex-Mossad, who is the leader of a new radical Fifth Column resistance movement that will have a much more uncompromising stance against the Visitors and will pose some problems for the resistance led by Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell). (Blastr)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Kate Beckinsale will star opposite Mark Wahlberg in Contraband, which centers on a security guard and former alcohol smuggler who is tempted back into illicit business by a dubious friend after encountering financial problems. (Latino Review and Dark Horizons)

It looks like Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Elle Fanning (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) [and little sister of Dakota Fanning] have joined the super-secret movie being done by J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg called Super 8. No details are available on their roles or what the movie is really about but rumor has it the film centers on three siblings who discover footage of an alien. (Vulture)

Wondering what the top 10 box office movies were for the past weekend. Here’s the list from Exhibitor Relations via E! Entertainment Weekly:

1. The Town, $23.8 million
2. Easy A, $18.2 million
3. Devil, $12.6 million
4. Resident Evil: Afterlife, $10.1 million
5. Alpha and Omega, $9.2 million
6. Takers, $3 million
7. The American, $2.8 million
8. Inception, $2.02 million
9. The Other Guys, $2 million
10. Eat Pray Love, $1.7 million

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Callie Thorne (Rescue Me) has landed the lead role in the hour-long USA pilot Necessary Roughness. The potential series, which is inspired by a true story, centers on a female shrink (Thorne) who becomes the therapist for a professional football team. After succeeding beyond expectations, she is sought after by other athletes, musicians, politicians, and those living in the spotlight who all want her unique brand of tough-love therapy. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Showtime is near to making a pilot-order deal for the drama Homeland, which is based on the Israeli format “Prisoners of War.” The domestic version centers on the discovery of a U.S. soldier who was presumed killed in Iraq 10 years ago. The soldier returns home, but questions arise as to whether he truly was a wartime POW or a member of a sleeper cell sent to cause the next terrorist attack. (James Hibberd at Live Feed at The Hollywood Reporter)

J. J. Abrams and frequent collaborators Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec are pitching a comedic drama to the networks that would have Lost alums Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn playing former black-ops agents. Nothing is set in stone nor has any network stepped forward yet, though. (Vulture)

Syfy is developing the drama script Metadocs, which is based on the Antarctic Press comic book series created by Joe Dunn and Rod Espinoza that follows a team of specialists tasked with treating a small percentage of the world’s population who have become ‘afflicted’ with extraordinary abilities. (The Futon Critic)

FIRST LOOK

First Look: Smallville’s Chloe Makes Her Comic Book Debut

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

Question: I wanted to find out your thoughts on all the shows on Monday night. It seems like it has almost become the go-to night for TV viewing with the returning favorites and some of the more buzz-worthy new shows. My TiVos are going to get a workout that night. What do you think should be watched live, DVR’ed for viewing later and forgotten altogether? — Melissa

Matt Roush: No night this season is easy to navigate, but Mondays and Thursdays (see next question) are particularly packed. I’m getting a lot of questions concerning the face-off between Lone Star and The Event at 9/8c on Mondays, and that’s probably the trickiest choice to have to make, as both are among the few distinctive pilots of the new season. (NBC is making it easier for at least the first week by repeating Event’s pilot on multiple cable platforms, and Fox is repeating Lone Star late night Saturday. Don’t know how long this will last, but if you can’t record two things at once, that and going online are your best options.) I was very impressed with the Lone Star pilot, so that’s my priority pick, but The Event is going to appeal (at least in theory) to many of those who visit this column, if past experience is any indication. I felt the Event pilot was terribly flawed by an overly convoluted time-jumping set-up, but some of the mysteries are intriguing and the final twist is such a WTF that I can’t imagine not watching episode 2. I was not, however, nearly as emotionally connected to it as I was to Lone Star, which I truly can’t wait to see a second episode of.

For the rest of Monday, the battles are much as they’ve always been. Many people (including me) will not be able to resist the train wreck of Dancing With the Stars, but will have to find room as well for How I Met Your Mother, Chuck and House (suddenly more interesting again now that they’ve committed fully to the “Huddy”) in the first hour. And at 10/9c, Hawaii Five-0 will likely hold the former CSI: Miami crowd, while Castle loyalists will stay put. (You can forget NBC’s Chase, easily the most forgettable show on any network this night. And I broke up with CW’s Monday soaps a while back, so they’re not an option for me, but they may be for you.) So with all that in mind, if I had to pick shows to watch live, I’d go Chuck or House, then Lone Star, then Castle, though I’ll also be following Mother, The Event and even Hawaii as close to same night viewing as possible. And because of its watercooler potential, I’ll also need to be watching Dancing on the night it airs as best I can. Good thing I’ve got recorders in multiple rooms. But if it holds up, Lone Star is going to be the Monday night show that I’ll most eagerly await each week of all of them.

Question: I can’t believe how jam-packed with shows the new Thursday-night lineup is going to be! I will hardly know what to DVR vs. what to watch! Thank goodness they moved Supernatural to Fridays. What will your plan be for Thursdays this fall? — Debby

Matt Roush: Thursdays are tough, and the CW made it tougher by premiering The Vampire Diaries and Nikita early, and I’m now hooked on both, especially the new season of Vampire, which has gotten off to a fun start. The shows that I will feel the greatest need to watch night-of-air will be (at 8/7c) The Big Bang Theory (then probably switch to 30 Rock and catch up with Community as best I can, since $#*! My Dad Says is pretty lousy), but also keeping an eye on Vampire and Bones as best I can; then at 9/8c, watching Grey’s Anatomy and recording Fringe (or vice versa, depending on the week; CSI and The Office, and probably Nikita will take a back seat); and at 10/9c, The Mentalist would be my first choice, but most weeks, I’ll use that hour to play back stuff I was recording in the earlier hours. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. But in a good way. (The shows I will most likely not be bothering with include ABC’s mawkish My Generation, CBS’s Dad and NBC’s Outsourced. Life’s too short, and so’s the week.)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Friday to one and all. Got any fun plans for the weekend? I’ll be seeing The Town tomorrow and then spending every waking moment (however long or short that might be) writing. Hope you have a good weekend regardless of what you’ve got planned.

Meanwhile, here are the news items for today:

AWARDS

Glee, Modern Family, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie and the box office movie Precious were name winners of the 2010 Humanitas Prize, an honor given to films and TV shows that “explore the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way.” Congrats to all involved. (Rick Porter at Zap2It)

TELEVISION

Geoff Stults (October Road and Happy Town) will guest star in the fifth episode of How I Met Your Mother, playing Max, the new guy in Robin’s (Cobie Smulders) life at least for that one episode. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Lee Tergeson (Oz) will appear in Castle as Gates, a shrewd, hardened, and violent felon who becomes the prime suspect in this season’s big “3XK” serial-killer investigation. He will turn up in episode 7. Castle is back on September 20. (Posted by Castle cast member Jon Huertas at Twitter followed up by more details from Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Nancy Travis (Becker and The Bill Engvall Show) will play the mother of Brian Austin Green’s character in Desperate Housewives. The series is back with new episodes on September 26. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Warehouse 13 will be back with a third season although an official announcement from Syfy will probably not be made until October (Executive Producer Jack Kenny via Twitter)

FALL TV EXCITEMENT

10 reasons to watch Chuck (even if you’ve never seen it before)

ME: I cannot WAIT for Chuck to be back on the air; but I should also say I’m anxious for the returns of Castle and Supernatural too. Just too much good TV this fall (well, at least among the returning favorites that is).

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Ryan Murphy (the man behind Glee) and Howard Gordon (one of the men behind 24) are teaming up for a new procedural TV drama that is near to getting a deal from FOX for a pilot order. Details are scarce on the project but it is being called a “high-concept character-driven supernatural procedural about a psychiatrist that deals with people facing their worst fears and phobias”. (James Hibberd at Hollywood Reporter)

Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer) just may be coming back to TV in the form of a half-hour comedy described as a female Big Bang Theory. The project would reunite Hewitt with FOX where she got her break as co-star on Party of Five. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

J.J. Abrams is a busy man lately. Yet another one of his project, teaming him with Jonah Nolan (brother of Christopher Nolan, the man behind such films as Dark Knight and Inception), has gotten the attention of the folks at CBS. The project currently called Person of Interest and is to be a crime thriller. (Vulture)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies) has been selected to write the live-action feature film Pinocchio. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) will portray Queen front man Freddie Mercury in an as-yet untitled movie that will follow Queen’s formative years, leading up to the band’s performance at Live Aid in 1985. (Deadline and Movie Web)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

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Hey All,

Quite a bit of casting and development news to share today along with other TV and movie news so let’s get right into it:

TELEVISION

Victor Garber (Alias and Eli Stone), French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun), Kathleen Quinlan (Prison Break) and former Stargate franchise stars David Hewlett and Robert Picardo will be guest starring in upcoming episodes of Stargate Universe, which returns for its second season on September 28 at 9 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Tracie Thoms (Cold Case) and Roger Bart (Desperate Housewives) will guest star in the same upcoming episode of Human Target on FOX. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Candice Bergen will guest star in a multi-episode arc on House, starring as the mother of Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Law & Order: UK will be coming to US television sets via BBC America starting on October 3 at 10:30 PM before moving to Fridays at 9 PM. The series is set, of course in London, starring Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica), Bradley Walsh (The Old Curiosity Shop), Ben Daniels (The State Within) and Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who). (The Futon Critic)

TNT has renewed their new series Memphis Beat for a second season. The series received a 10 episode order for the new season. (Twitter)

Elizabeth Reaser (The Twilight Saga franchise) and Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under) are joining The Good Wife. Reaser will play a sports writer who will serve as a new love interest for Will (Josh Charles) while Taylor will guest-star as a possible romantic foil for Kalinda (Archie Panjabi). It is not yet known when each actress will make her first appearance on the CBS legal drama. The Good Wife returns on September 28 at 10 PM. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Rachel Ticotin is replacing Wanda De Jesus on the upcoming NBC series Law & Order: Los Angeles, playing the new Lieutenant who heads the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division. She will star alongside Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Megan Boone and Regina Hall. The series debuts on September 22, at 10 PM. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

Jewel Staite (Firefly and Stargate: Atlantis), Eric Johnson (Rookie Blue) and Lauren Holly (NCIS) will star in the Hallmark Channel movie Debbie Macomber’s Call Me Mrs. Miracle that is set to air on November 27 at 8 PM. The film is about Mrs. Miracle (Doris Roberts) who is back to ensure that this Christmas is the most magical and meaningful of all. When Mrs. Miracle appears as a seasonal employee in the toy department at the financially troubled Finley’s Department Store, neither the store’s owners, nor the customers, have any idea of the saintly events that are about to unfold. (The Futon Critic)

Lifetime has ordered the four-hour miniseries Marry Me, which will star Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels), Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me), Bobby Cannavale (Third Watch), Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace) and Annie Potts (Designing Women). The movie revolves around a woman (Liu) looking for Mr. Right. (Variety and Televisionary)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FOX has giving a pilot order to the much buzzed about J.J. Abrams and Elizabeth Sarnoff Alcatraz project, that revolves around the infamous San Francisco island prison that was shut down in 1963 (Variety and Televisionary)

Lou Diamond Philips (Stargate Universe) has been cast in the as-yet untitled Josh Berman drama pilot for Lifetime. He will play a police lieutenant and the boss to Sherry Stringfield’s (ER) Molly Collins and Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s (The Sopranos) Brooke Kross. (Deadline and Televisionary)

Dylan Baker (The Good Wife) has been cast in a potentially recurring role on the USA Network series Burn Notice, where he will play Max, a power broker who could hold Michael’s fate in his hands. He will first appear in the fourth season finale and could return in Season Five. (Deadline and Televisionary)

CBS has given a script order to an untitled New Jersey crime drama pilot Gary Lennon (Justified). The project revolves around the first female police chief of Newark who must battle crime and law-enforcement corruption as well as a difficult home life. (Hollywood Reporter and Televisionary)

ABC is developing a show based on the Pat Conroy best-selling novel The Prince of Tides, which was adapted into a film in 1991, starring Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. The TV project will follow the novel more closely, telling the story of a married Southern football coach from an abusive and dysfunctional family who falls in love with a New York psychiatrist. (James Hibberd Live Feed at Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has picked up the Darren Star-produced dramedy based on the Kim Gatlin book Good Christian Bitches. The as-yet untitled project centers on Amanda Vaughn, a recently divorced mother of two who, to get a fresh start, moves back to the affluent Dallas neighborhood where she grew up to find herself in the whirling midst of salacious gossip, Botox, and fraud. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The network has also made a pilot commitment to a thriller from Paranormal Activity writer-director Oren Peli and Michael R. Perry. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Jennifer Garner is in talks to star in the dramatic thriller Better Living Through Chemistry, which follows a small-town pharmacist (Jeremy Renner) who is stuck in a loveless marriage and rediscovers himself through an affair with a trophy wife (Garner) who introduces him to the pleasures of prescription drugs. Things spin out of control when the affair escalates and the lovers begin plotting to kill the woman’s husband. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Malin Akerman (Watchmen) is set to join the comedy film Wanderlust that centers on a couple (Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston) who, after losing all of their money and move from New York to Atlanta, take refuge at a hippie commune. Akerman’s role has not been specified yet. Lauren Ambrose and Justin Theroux also star. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Second New Full-Length Trailer for Disney’s ‘Tangled’

ME: I cannot say enough how much I really want to see this movie and it’s animated (not the typical movie I clamor to see I should add); but it’s because of the terrific Zachary Levi providing the voice of the “hero” that has been enamored more than anything.

Watch: ‘The Nutcracker 3D’ Official Trailer with Elle Fanning

TV INTERVIEW

Vampire Diaries’ Katerina Graham: Bonnie “Will Do Something Unthinkable”

GUIDE TO UPCOMING TV

A complete guide to 68 midseason genre shows, movies and miniseries

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Fringe scoop please?

Ausiello: Here you go: The first one comes courtesy of John Noble, who reveals exactly how Walternate plans to pull Peter’s strings from the alt-universe. “[Walternate] has to ensure that [Peter] continues to work on our side,” says Noble, “and he’ll do that through alt-Olivia.” Okay, I’ll bite: How exactly will Bolivia manipulate Peter? Noble hesitates before whispering, “She seduces him… Did I just say that? Did I just drop a big teaser?” I believe you did, sir!

Question: Does the fact that Fringe is setting every other episode “over there” mean that we’re going to see more of Charlie this season? —Melissa

Ausiello: That’s precisely what that means. Charlie remains active in the alt-world’s Fringe division, so look for him to appear in multiple episodes—beginning with next Thursday’s season premiere.

Question: The DirecTV press release about the final season of Friday Night Lights doesn’t mention anything about Gaius Charles returning. Does this mean Smash is not in season 5? If so, did they want to bring him back and couldn’t for scheduling reasons, or was it a creative choice? —Jake

Ausiello: Smash will not be back for the fifth and final season, and, according to exec producer Jason Katims, creative and scheduling considerations came into play. “It was a combination of [Gaius’] availability and the storytelling,” he tells me. “With only 13 episodes, we ended up having to pick and choose which stories and characters to service. The story drives everything. We didn’t want to bring [alums] back just to bring them back. We wanted to make sure we had a good story for them.” That said, Katims says Smash is “referenced” in one of the episodes. “We find out how he’s doing in school.”

Question: I have a craving for anything Castle! —Trish

Ausiello: I’ve got three words for you: Castle. Beckett. Nudity. Allow exec producer Andrew Marlowe to explain: “They have to go to a strip club to investigate a murder, and Castle is very excited about this. Unfortunately for him, it turns out to be a male revue with crazy bachelorettes running around. He, of course, ends up being fresh meat.”

Question: Can I have a scoop on Bones please? —Pauline

Ausiello: The rumors are true: Angela, who had a little pregnancy scare last season with boyfriend Wendell, is actually having a baby with husband Hodgins. Actress Michaela Conlin expects Angela to “weave in some of her craziness” to their impending parenthood. “I think we may see her interviewing some doulas and wild pediatricians and things like that. And hopefully, she’ll be eating a lot of weird stuff,” Conlin says. “I think it’s going to be nice to see another side of her this season.”

Question: I love Sweets on Bones, but I hate to see him get the short end of so many sticks. Any news on what’s in store for him this season? —AJ

Ausiello: A possible reunion with Daisy is in store—provided he’s able to forgive her for choosing her career over him. “He’s taking baby steps to finally let [Daisy] back into his heart,” reveals Sweets’ portrayer, John Frances Daley. “He has a very fragile heart. He’s been through a lot. Obviously, they have very strong feelings for each other, and they can’t really stay apart for too long—as we establish [in the premiere]. He’s a good guy generally, so I think ultimately, yeah, he’ll take her back.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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