Stray Bullets: No Lucky Charms for One of Veronica's Gang?

I knew the janitor had something to do with it!

Well, okay, I didn't, but Veronica Mars doesn't often pointedly introduce a character in an episode just to have them fade back into the ether. Like, say, for example, Neptune High's tarnished golden boy, Lucky, who was last seen sweeping the halls of Veronica's school.

Since his first appearance, I've been wondering when we'd see Lucky--the Neptune Varsity player turned injured soldier turned high school janitor--again. And it ends up that he's not only stalking Gia Goodman, the daughter of decidedly crooked Mayor Woody Goodman, but he's also tangled up with Meg Manning's evangelical and abusive father... and quite possibly the bus crash mystery as well.

Which would be exciting in and of itself, but if the UPN promo department is to be believed, next week's episode appears to depict an armed Lucky terrorizing Neptune High. And it's quite possible that his rampage might very well have a victim. (Though, honestly, I hope not. This is Veronica Mars, not 24.) So who's going to bite the bullet then? Here's a handy list of Lucky's possible victims.

(1) Jackie

Using the logic of 1980s horror movies, Jackie is definitely a goner. She and Wallace had sex after the Alterna-Prom and this is a teen drama, after all, so she's either going to end up (A) dead, (B) pregnant, or (C) both. We already had a teen pregnancy this year (Duncan's ex-girlfriend Meg wound up carrying his baby), Jackie's been talking about attending the Sorbonne for college rather than stay locally, and I've finally started liking the girl, so I think creator Rob Thomas will make me feel forever guilty by killing Jackie just as she became sympathetic. RIP, Jackie Cook; we hardly knew ye.

(2) Gia

Lucky's been stalking Gia for a while now, so why not finish the job once and for all and off her. You know, one of those if he can't have her, no one will sort of things. But at the same time, his gripe seems to be less with the mayor's daughter and more with the Mayor himself. I don't think that his stalking was motivated by an obsession with Gia but rather a way to get at Woody Goodman through his family. So what's Lucky's gripe with the incorporation-fixated local mayor? Not sure, though Keith nearly got Lucky to open up in his holding cell. Either way, I'm thinking that Gia is a red herring; we're not all that emotionally connected to her, which would make her death rather... dramatically unsatisfying. Unlike, say...

(3) Mac

I will be totally honest here and say that I love Mac. Sure, that's been rather obvious from the way I've been pleading with Rob Thomas to make the actress that plays her (Tina Majorino) a full castmember, but the energy and spark that she brings to the episodes she's in is infectious. I know Veronica doesn't really get along well with other women (other than her poor dead best friend Lily Kane), but based on the adversarial relationships she's had with Neptune's ladies (deadbeat mom, Celeste Kane, Kendall Casablancas, Jackie, Madison, etc.), that's understandable. However, she and Mac have this great Buffy-and-Willow vibe and make a fantastic sleuthing team. All I can say is: please don't kill Mac! (Instead, make her Veronica's roomie next year at college!)

(4) Dick or Cassidy Casablancas

With the revelation that stepmom Kendall would inherit a fortune in insurance money if the Casablancas boys were to die, I'd say it's a pretty safe assumption that someone is gunning for them. Whether they end up collateral damage in Lucky's shooting spree is another matter, but I'd hate for either Casablancas--hilarious misogynist Dick or sensitive, secretive Cassidy--to be written out of the show. They've turned into such wonderful supporting players in Veronica's unfolding drama.

(5) Wallace

Highly unlikely that best bud Wallace will be the one to die, especially as they've already set up the fact that he'll be attending Hearst College in the fall... which is most likely (or--cough, cough--definitely) where Veronica will end up as well. And besides for occasional forays with Mac, he's Veronica's go-to mystery buddy and he always has her back. His chances of survival are looking pretty darn good, unless he does something foolish and dives in front of the gun to save his current girlfriend Jackie.

(6) Logan

Okay, I reeeeally doubt that Logan will get killed, but you never know. But I hope not, in any case. He and Veronica single-handedly have the best chemistry of any couple--or non-couple as the case may be--on any television show. When the two formerly lovers are in a scene together, the TV screen could seriously burst into flames and melt onto my living room floor. Logan's tied up in part of the ongoing mysteries--dad Aaron killed his girlfriend Lily Kane, Veronica's BFF--and he was framed for the murder of Felix by PCH'er Thumper and the notorious Fitzpatrick gang. Plus, he's sleeping with Kendall Casablancas again, and she's a prime suspect in the whole bus-crash mystery, and is secretly dating Liam Fitzpatrick... His death would mean the end of an era for Veronica Mars and would probably catapult Veronica over the deep end, considering she did just spill her feelings for him in this past episode. Like Wallace, I think he'll be around next season.

(7) Backup

No, I don't really think Veronica's lovable pooch is gonna get killed by Lucky, but his disappearance from the series is somewhat troubling. Do we need to put up missing dog posters on telephone poles around Neptune? We never see Backup laying around on Veronica's couch or chasing down would-be stalkers or murderous Fitzpatricks, so where'd he go?

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Ghost Whisperer (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Smallville (WB); Daytime Emmy Awards (ABC); Austin Powers in Goldmember (FOX; 8-10 pm); WWE Friday Night Smackdown (UPN)

9 pm: Close to Home (CBS); Las Vegas (NBC); Supernatural (WB)

10 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); Conviction (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

7:20 pm: High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman.

Watch Shirley channel dead famous people, aided by the spirit of his dead dog Sheba, in this hilarious and often painful spoof psychic show.

9 pm: Doctor Who.

On tonight's installment ("Father's Day"), the Doctor and Rose travel back in time, where Rose comes face to face with her dead father, but instead of sunshine and puppies, they find themselves battling the monstrous Reapers.

Channel Surfing: 4.28.06

"Battlestar" to Travel Back to "Caprica"

Sci-Fi Channel unveiled its development slate this week, which included a Battlestar: Galactica spin-off of sorts called Caprica. The project, from NBC Universal TV, executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (Battlestar: Galactica), and writer Remi Aubuchon (24), will bet set over fifty years prior to the events in the current Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica.

Below is the series' concept, from the official press release from Sci-Fi Channel:

"The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high-technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better. But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot - a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the Battlestar Galactica), Caprica weaves corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television's first science fiction family saga."

Other projects announced to be in development at Sci-Fi include series from Jesse Alexander (Lost, Alias), Freddie Prinze Jr., and Eric McCormack.

While a recent convert to the ways of Battlestar: Galactica, I am now a devout follower and can't wait to have two BSG series on the air. Hopefully Sci-Fi will be smart and program them back-to-back and make the long wait between seasons a little more palatable. Fingers crossed.

Scribe Jane Espenson Signs Two-Year Deal with NBC Universal TV

Dashing all hopes that the CW would see the error of their ways and beg former Gilmore Girls writer Jane Espenson to take over as showrunner next season, former Buffy scribe Espenson has signed a two-year agreement with studio NBC Universal.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Espenson will join the writing staff of an existing NBC Universal television series and will also develop her own projects with the studio. And the deal--valued at seven figures--does not restrict her from working on only one-hour or half-hour programs.

I don't know about you, but I'd love to see Espenson's take on, say, the Dunder-Mifflin gang on The Office.

NBC to Continue to Fill Schedule with "Law & Order" Series

According to a press release from NBC, the Peacock network has renewed stalwart procedural series Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent for the 2006-2007 season.

"Since Law & Order's inception 16 years ago, these well-crafted series have come to define quality dramatic television," said NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. "All of us at NBC are grateful to Dick Wolf and his amazing team for producing these extraordinary shows, and we're glad they'll be back again next season."

Next up for NBC: Celebrity Cooking Showdown: Special Victims Unit.

Netlet MyNetworkTV Unveils Three New (Soon to be Forgotten) Series

Maria Conchita Alonso, Dayanara Torres, and Sean Young have signed on to star in three new dramas currently in development at MyNetworkTV, FOX's replacement network for former UPN affiliates.

After telenovela-style dramas Desire and Secret Obsessions conclude their thirteen-week runs, the network will launch A Dangerous Love, Watch over Me, and Art of Betrayal. Like their network predecessors, each series will be comprised of a 65 hour-long episodes airing Monday through Friday over 13 weeks, with a recap episode airing every Saturday.

Thrilling, I know.

UPDATED: "Vanished" to Appear on FOX... And Other Early Pickup News

As I predicted a week ago on this site, FOX has given an early greenlight to drama Vanished and the Brad Garrett-toplined comedy 'Til Death, according to Variety. The early pick-ups come nearly a month before FOX unveils its full schedule to advertisers on May 18th. Additionally, both projects have been given 13-episode orders (inclusive of their respective pilots), according to The Futon Critic.

Vanished, from studio 20th Century Fox TV and creator Josh Berman (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), revolves around the disappearance of a senator's wife. The central mystery, part of a larger conspiracy, will be seen through the various perspectives of law enforcement, family members, and the media.

The drama, directed by Mimi Leder, will star John Allen Nelson, John Patrick Amedori, Ming-Na, Chris Egan, Robert Hoffman, Margarita Levieva, Joanne Kelly, Gale Harold, and Rebecca Gayheart.

Half-hour comedy 'Til Death revolves around a newlywed couple, played by Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster, who move to a new home next to a long-married couple, played by Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher. The comedy comes from Sony Pictures Television and executive producers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith (The King of Queens).

Meanwhile, over at NBC, three more current dramas received early pick-ups for next season. NBC announced via press release that it had renewed long-running dramas Medium, Crossing Jordan, and Las Vegas, were all picked up for the 2006-2007 season.

"These three shows have A+ creative auspices and some of the most loyal audiences on television," said NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. "I'm thrilled that we can count on them again next season."

Reality Check: Sayonara to "Top" Sommelier Stephen

It was with special glee that I watched last night's episode of Top Chef ("Wedding Bell Blues"), hoping--nay, praying--that arrogant sommelier Stephen Asprinio would be the one to pack his knives this week. After last week's disastrous performance (in which he left the kitchen to fend for themselves while he "educated" the dinner guests endlessly about the appellation of the various wines he was serving), I'd run out of any patience I had left for the spiky-haired condescending Stephen, whose talents seem to lie in making a successions of itty bitty little tastes on a plate and droning on about the differences between rose glasses and white wine glasses.

The challenge last night was a difficult one and fraught with missteps: the chefs had 16 hours to plan and execute a 100-person sit-down wedding reception for gay couple Scott and Scott (no, not a typo there: they were both named Scott) from a menu designed by Lee Anne, whose inspired take on Pan-Asian cuisine impressed the Scotts so much that she won the Quickfire Challenge. No one, least of all Lee Anne, had thought that her ambitious menu--consisting of canape, amuse bouche, and four courses, including dessert--would actually have to be implemented. And it was quite an extravagant one: prawn toasts, a selection of Asian appetizers for an amuse bouche (spring roll, soup dumpling), salmon perched atop a green papaya salad, a lovers' nest of seafood and veg (complete with Origami cranes on the plate), Peking-style beef with crispy scallion pancake, etc. Oh, and did I mention they'd have to do a wedding cake as well?

That's where things started to drastically awry. Opting to use store-bought cake mix (shudder) as a base for Lee Anne's ginger and vanilla scented cake with passionfruit curd and white chocolate genoise, the team believed that they were going to squeak by the perils of wedding cake making. Instead, they ended up with a beautiful-looking cake (which Lee Anne decorated gorgeously with orchids) but which was far too sweet... and contained eggshells!

The chefs pulled an all-nighter to prep for the reception but the gang was soon exhausted and drained from the strain and stress. (Didn't any of them ever have to pull an all-nighter in college? It's called coffee, people. That and Jesse Spano's infamous Keep Awake pills.) Tensions were frayed and some (i.e. DAVE) overextended themselves and typically didn't end up doing anything all that well, having spread themselves so thin, or so says Tiffani. As the service dragged on, each of them started to slip up and the food they sent out was so subpar that it was embarrassing. Dave's prawn crackers--while apparently delicious according to the guests--were overly greasy; Harold's salmon and green papaya salad was a complete and utter disaster along the lines of the Hindenburg: cold and flavorless, a bland melange of noodles, papaya, and nearly inedible salmon, it drew the wrath of guests and judges alike.

Meanwhile, Stephen remained so Big Picture-focused that he failed to see the details, in his usual fashion. So much so that he neglected to wash any of the packaged plates or Asian spoons for the amuse bouche course he was supposed to be serving, which the chefs discover as they start plating the dish. As the chefs scrambled to serve his course, you might ask: Where was Stephen? Why, he wash at the front of the house, of course, training the wait staff (as the dining room captain looks on with a bewildered expression, from the sidelines) on how to pour the wine, which glasses to use, the origins of the wines they are serving, how to sweep the dining room whilst serving.

It's all very unnerving to me. Yes, service is an important part of any fine dining experience, but Stephen seemed typically confused about what the task at hand was. Again, the show is not Top Maitre d' or Top Sommelier. Why wasn't he in the kitchen helping on the line? Especially as there were four people (FOUR) preparing food for 100 guests in the next room. Stop pretending that you're liaising with the front of the house (which resulted in the beef dish being plated too soon, thanks to Stephen) and focus on, you know, actually cooking. I know it's a novel concept and all, this being Top Chef, but I think impressing the judges with your aptitude in the kitchen rather than the dining room might have been a good idea. Especially since Tom Colicchio had just called you out on your behavior the week before.

Fortunately, the judges had had enough of Stephen's weasely ways and sent him packing (though of course Stephen was confused and offended that anyone dare think of him as anything other than the best of the best), leaving only Dave, Lee Anne, Tiffani, and Harold remaining in the game. Next week, one more will be sent home, before the season finale showdown in Las Vegas, where three chefs--hopefully Lee Anne, Tiffani, and Harold--will battle it out for the dubious title of Top Chef.

I can't wait for the next course.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (CBS); Will & Grace/My Name is Earl (NBC); NBA Basketball (WB); American Inventor (ABC); That '70s Show/That '70s Show (FOX); Everybody Hates Chris/Love, Inc. (UPN)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); My Name is Earl/The Office (NBC); American Inventor (ABC); The OC (FOX); Eve/Cuts (UPN)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); ER (NBC); Commander in Chief (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Everybody Hates Chris.

On tonight's very special episode of Everybody Hates Chris ("Everybody Hates Playboy"), Chris discovers dad Julius' Playboy magazine and brings it to school, only to have it first end up in the hands of a bully before being confiscated by the principal. Chris better not admit that it belonged to Julius or Rochelle is gonna whup his ass.

8:30 pm: My Name is Earl (Repeat).

A second airing of one of my favorite--if not THE favorite--episodes of My Name is Earl. On this repeat ("Stole P's HD Cart"), after Earl returns the hot dog cart he had stolen from beloved local food purveyor Pop, Ralph (guest star Giovanni Ribisi) is paid by Pop's competition to set fire to the cart. Features one of the best Joy scenes ever. You'll know which one I am talking about.

9 pm: My Name is Earl.

A half-hour later on a brand new episode of Earl ("Stole a Badge"), Earl tries to return a police badge that he had stolen a few years earlier only to be bowled over by the police. Get it? Bowled over? As in bowling ball? Oh just shut up and watch the episode.

9:30 pm: The Office.

The Office returns with a new episode tonight ("Drug Testing") that looks absolutely hilarious. When Dwight discovers half a joint in the parking lot, he launches a full investigation and everyone in the office falls under suspicion. I think it belongs to Ryan. He does always look shifty.

TiVo Times Two

I got a wonderful email yesterday from the good folks at TiVo alerting me to their latest offering: a dual tuner TiVo Series 2 unit that can record two programs at the same time (a feat largely diminished in my mind now that Lost and Veronica Mars aren't in the same timeslot). While the combination DirecTV-TiVo units have had this capability for some time, it's the first time that a stand-alone TiVo unit has been able to simultaneously record two shows.

The TiVo Series 2 DT DVR with 80-hour recording capability is available now for current TiVo customers with a 1 year pre-paid service for only $254. The new unit, which also has built-in-Ethernet and USB ports, will be released to the general public May 1st.

While I love the new features and the capability of recording more than one program at a time, I am still itching for the release of the TiVo Series 3 unit (hopefully) this fall; I'll be saving my pennies!

"Girls" Interrupted

Last night's Gilmore Girls ("Super Cool Party People") brought us the first episode written by inbound Gilmore Girls showrunner David Rosenthal since the announcement that he would be taking over for departing showrunner/executive producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. It's also his second writing credit on the show to date. So how did the new showrunner do?

I really, really tried to go into "Super Cool Party People" with an open mind. But was it just me or did the episode feel as awkward as the beginning of April's birthday party? The way that David Rosenthal wrote the episode reminded me of how Luke was barking out orders and rules to those poor girls attending newly-discovered daughter April's fete: he wanted them to have fun and have a good time but in the end only made everyone miserable. Poetic justice?

I was completely baffled by the scene in which Luke and Lorelai finally begin to even talk about the awkwardness that is their relationship regarding April, especially as it seems to spring from Luke's insistence that he buy a weird kitty-covered bathroom set for April as a present. (Also bizarre: Luke talking about how he enjoys shopping with Lorelai? Not buying it at all.) As Luke seems to descend into madness over the joys of purchasing soap for little April, he finally admits the reason why he's been keeping April at arm's length from Lorelai: he's afraid that April would like Lorelai better than him because Lorelai is as fun as a "cartoon character" and he'd lose her. First off, if someone called me a "cartoon character" I'd be offended, but--putting that remark aside--the scene fell flat. This is a crucial character moment that we've been building towards for the second half of the season, where Lorelai finally confronts Luke about his mishandling of their relationship. Instead what Rosenthal gave us was a bizarre whimper of a scene that never delved into what Luke's confession says about his unease around April and his jealousy of the relationship between Lorelai and Rory, one he can never replicate with April.

So far, I've loved April's mom, Anna Nardini (the incandescent Sherilyn Fenn), but last night Anna came off as nothing more than a raving lunatic. Angrily confronting Luke after she discovers Lorelai's involvement in April's party-turned-sleepover, Anna is furious that parents could find out that April and her friends spent the entire night with a strange woman (Lorelai) whom none of them know and screamed at Luke for some time about how unreliable he is. Um, excuse me, but apparently Anna would have been fine if everyone thought the girls spent the entire night sleeping in the same room as Luke, himself a strange man, April's long-lost dad, and the owner of the diner where April's party was thrown? That would have been a better scenario for her to explain to the kids' parents? And who exactly did she think was going to keep an eye on the girls all night when April called to tell her about the slumber party? The big, hairy guy whom the kids have nicknamed Hagrid?

And then there was the entire Rory and Logan storyline, which lacked any real sense of urgency or emotion. I never once felt that Rory was actually concerned with Logan nor when he became conscious that this was a young couple in love. Plus, what was up with Rory calling Logan's dad Mitchum and screaming at him to get down to the hospital? Especially when we didn't see that same phone call from Mitchum's perspective, though we were forced to watch both sides of an unnecessary Rory-Honor phone call (and Rory-Paris and Rory-Lorelai, etc.). And then when Mitchum does finally show up, it's with nary a word between him and Rory (or any dialogue at all), and then goes into see his injured son, a scene that we had to hear about from Logan rather than see. My only consolations is that I hope producers paid actor Gregg Henry quite a lot for his silently-walking-across-hall performance in this episode.

Finally, another scene that really got under my skin was that between Lorelai and Anna, when Lorelai goes to apologize to April's mom for the party. Rosenthal mines the very obviousness of the similarities between Anna and Lorelai and their situations (i.e., single-motherhood) instead of mining this further in a less direct way. Again, Anna comes across as a tyrant, refusing Lorelai any contact with April, and stinging her with a zinger about engagements not being the same as marriages ("Lots of people get engaged," she says. Ouch.). And Lorelai looks a complete doormat for not trying to call Anna out on this. Is this what a relationship with Luke has done to Lorelai? Made her into a wallflower afraid to stick up for herself or speak her mind? Is this what's become of our tough Gilmore girl?

(Another nitpick, though not really Rosenthal's fault, is that no one has even mentioned the fact that Lorelai's entire family seems under the impression that her June wedding to Luke is still on; it's a rather disturbingly dangling plot thread that, while not Rosenthal's fault, nonetheless irks.)

Only two episodes of Gilmore Girls remain before Amy and Daniel walk off into the sunset and after watching "Super Cool Party People" I am definitely concerned by Rosenthal being in charge of the creative path that this show will take next season, especially since he doesn't really seem to "get" these characters. In the meantime, we've got two episodes of Palladino goodness left, which from the looks of it, will be quite a race to the finale: an elopement, a possible pregnancy (judging from the red hair, I think it's Luke's sis Liz rather than a Gilmore girl), and an emotional goodbye as Logan departs for London... and the Palladinos leave Stars Hollow for good.

DVD... On Demand?

So does this mean that I can finally get Andy Richter Controls the Universe on DVD?

Okay, probably not, but it is a step in the right direction for many under-rated shows that might not warrant a DVD release... or even for programming that studios are looking to make direct-to-DVD (hint, hint). Cable companies have been heralding the advent of On Demand programming for a while now and the next logical step is DVD On Demand.

The Hollywood Reporter announced a new initiative called DVD on Demand, a collection of titles from A&E Home Video, NBC Universal, and PBS, that will only be manufactured when they are purchased. The program was unveiled by CustomFlix Labs and will be available through Amazon.com.

According to Dana LoPiccolo-Giles, co-founder and managing director of CustomFlix, the DVD on Demand service "works perfectly for the massive amount of content that network and cable channels have yet to make available on DVD and other digital formats. Our service enables content providers to quickly and economically distribute previously unavailable programming to millions of Amazon.com customers.”

Offerings from A&E Home Video will include more than 1000 titles from A&E, the History Channel, and the Biography Channel including Modern Marvels, Investigative Reports and the Biography series. Initial programs from NBC Universal will include everything from Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show to a compilation of Where in the World is Matt Lauer? segments from the Today show. PBS will offer selections from American Experience, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, and Nova, among others. Hopefully, other networks and studios will follow suit.

So... when can we expect Andy Richter, Brittas Empire, or any of the other criminally neglected series that have yet to appear on DVD?

From Across the Pond: "What Not to Wear"

Let me preface this by saying that I don't often watch makeover shows, of the personal or home variety. It's not really my bag. But I can't get enough of British import What Not to Wear, which inspired its own (blandly derivative) American adaptation on TLC. While I can't stomach the Stateside makeover (heh), I find myself itching for the next episode of this British style series.

Much of that has to do with the intelligence and spunk of the British original's hosts, authors and style experts Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine whose "cruel to be kind" approach to fashion makeovers has made them infamous. They are both beautiful, highly intelligent, and fashion savvy and complement each other perfectly. It also helps that they both have completely different body types--Trinny is tall and skinny, Susannah shorter and more curvy--and neither is above doffing their own clothes in order to prove a point to their makeover victims. In fact, the show's original opening captured this perfectly as the ladies stripped off their clothes while berating one another until the show's logo covered their, um, delicates.

While previous seasons of What Not to Wear have contained a typical makeover surprise element, recent offerings have instead focused on helping women (and a few men along the way) who have volunteered for the experience. (Which isn't to say that these volunteers are at all any less stubborn than their victimized counterparts.) Trinny and Susannah slog through a pile of videotaped "auditions" from these volunteers and whittle down the competition to two women who are most deserving of an image overhaul and the torture begins.

Trinny and Susannah also spend a day in the applicants' shoes--literally. They dress in their volunteer's clothes, talk to their friends and family, and generally live their lives to get a better sense of who these women are and how their dress impacts their image and sense of being. And they usually go through their closets and tear up or throw out most of their horrid clothes whilst making catty remarks about how out of date or generally ghastly all of the items are.

Returning to the studio, the women watch the video footage with Trinny and Susannah and then it's into the horror of all horrors: a 360-degree mirror that forces the makeover victims to see how they really look to the outside world and force them to see both their flaws and--more importantly--their attributes. The process is amazing to watch. The women are either stubbornly resistant or blatantly shocked at how they look and it's truly enlightening to watch. Last week, for example, this slender and beautiful woman--a British army officer--refused to see how thin she was and kept insisting that she was fat; forcing her to confront her body issues, Trinny took her pants off--revealing only a G-string--and compared the cellulite on her body to the woman's toned figure. It was truly eye-opening and rather depressing at the same time and even after Trinny had dropped trou, she really had to fight to get this women to see the truth.

What follows is two days of shopping hell--the first day unsupervised, the second day overseen by Style Svengalis Trinny and Susannah--which usually ends up in tears and tantrums, sometimes from both the hosts and the women they're making over. The results of the makeover are always amazing and it is inspiring to see these women transform, both on the inside as well as the outside. This show is less about cosmetics and the joys of wearing espadrilles than it is about forcing these women to see the beauty in each of them. (A sometimes daunting tasks considering how many of them flat out refuse to change, despite volunteering for the process.) I would usually find the concept to be corny but the road to realization is so painful at times--plus you get to see Trinny and Susannah nearly have nervous breakdowns in various department stores--that the show remains both serious and silly at the same time.

Ultimately, What Not to Wear is stylish and sassy. Much like Trinny and Susannah themselves.

"What Not to Wear" airs Wednesday evenings at 9 pm EST and 6 pm or 10 pm PST on BBC America.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The Amazing Race (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); One Tree Hill (WB); Alias (ABC); Bones (FOX); America's Next Top Model (UPN)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Dateline (NBC); The Bedford Diaries (WB); Lost (ABC); American Idol/Unan1mous (FOX); America's Next Top Model (UPN)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Invasion (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

6 pm: What Not to Wear.

See above. On tonight's episode of the British import, two grandmothers get makeovers to match their youthful lifestyles. Aw, isn't that sweet?

8 pm: The Amazing Race.

Tonight's installment of The Amazing Race ("Do You Know How Much Running I Did Today, Phil?") sends the teams to the Land Down Under (maybe they'll run into the kids from 5 Takes: Pacific Rim?), where they'll have to ride tandem bicycles and a team picks up a hitchhiker.

8 pm: Alias.

On tonight's episode of the newly ratings-reinvigorated Alias ("There's Only One Sydney Bristow"), Sydney has to rescue her old friend Will (Bradley Cooper) from her old nemesis Anna Espinosa (the always sultry Gina Torres). Meanwhile--no, sorry, I can't do it. Too much bad blood between me and Alias for me to keep watching.

9 pm: Lost.

Tonight's episode of Lost is one of ABC's infamous pre-sweeps recap episodes ("Reckoning"). So if you've missed any of the clues--Ally, I am referring to you--here's your chance to catch up on the hatch, the balloon, the black smoke, the Other-Formerly-Known-as-Henry-Gale, and the zillion other mysteries that seem to abound on this fascinating, highly addictive drama.

10 pm: Top Chef.

On tonight's episode ("Wedding Bell Blues") of the real cooking showdown (heh, take that, NBC!), the teams must cater a commitment ceremony... with no advance planning. Meanwhile, one of the chefs uses store-bought cake mix for the wedding cake. (Shudder.) I think they'll maybe pull through. Just don't let Stephen give the toast...

Fans to Get "Lost" Over Summer

Looks like fans of Lost won't have to wait all summer long to get their fix.

The New York Times is reporting that network ABC has announced the upcoming launch of an interactive multi-platform game called The Lost Experience, which will begin in May. The game is described as "a multimedia treasure hunt that makes use of e-mail messages, phone calls, commercials, billboards and fake Web sites that are made to seem real."

The Lost Experience will launch a new storyline--while remaining consistent with Lost's ongoing mythology--that focuses on the mysterious Hanso Foundation and its relationship to the island's shadowy Dharma Initiative. It won't be necessary for players to have watched Lost prior to playing, but given the show's twisty plots and subliminal clues, it would certainly help. (Understatement of the century.) Additionally, it may become necessary for players to team up online in order to solve a number of the game's clues.

The idea for the interactive game came about at a lunch attended by Lost writer/executive producer Carlton Cuse, fellow writer/executive producer Damon Lindelof, and Michael Benson, an ABC executive, where they devised the concept of the Lost Experience. (Typically, these types of games are usually devised by marketing execs and not by a show's creators.) As Cuse told the New York Times:

"We wanted to tell stories in a nontraditional way, and there were certain stories that Damon [Lindelof] and I were interested in telling that don't exactly fit into the television show... We purposely design the show with a big amount of ambiguity so people can theorize about what a certain scene means. This allows the fans to participate in the process of discovery."

The game's first clue will make its appearance during the May 3rd episode of Lost. But be careful; you might blink and miss it. (UPDATE: E! Online is reporting that the initial clue is a toll-free number that players will have to call.)

Lastly, Cuse had this hint for viewers: "Watch the May 3rd episode very carefully. You can TiVo it, but don't skip the commercials."

Believe me, I won't.

Kendall Casablancas: From "Angel" to Murderess?

Is it just me or can you not get enough of Veronica Mars' Kendall Casablancas (Charisma Carpenter)? Spoiled, catty, and icily beautiful, Kendall is like Buffy's Cordelia on crack: a few years older, far more cunning, and certainly more dangerous.

Originally introduced early in the season as a former pro-cheerleader and minx--one who was cuckolding husband Dick Casablancas with Veronica's ex-boyfriend Logan, Kendall has morphed into something else altogether in recent weeks and has become more of a femme fatale than the eye candy she originally appeared to be.

Kendall spent the first part of the season sleeping around behind her real estate mogul husband's back and then, when he fled the country to avoid prosecution for some real estate fraud (uncovered by Veronica, natch), she somehow managed to avoid being indicted for the fraudulent deals she helped her hubby carry out. And then before you know it, Kendall somehow managed to become a front for a corporate venture started by her sixteen-year-old step-son Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas.

Seems Kendall also knows Season One's Big Bad, Aaron Echolls, as well and even visited him in prison and then planted something--a camera? microphone?--in Logan's shower, apparently at his behest. Okay, we know Aaron has a thing about filming himself, um, in flagrante delicto (see: Lily Kane), but isn't that pushing things a bit far, even for Aaron? And what did Aaron and Kendall hope to gain by filming Logan in the buff? A mystery for another day apparently, unless I am missing something. (Aha! Thanks to some savvy Veronica viewers, the mystery is solved: Kendall was sent by Aaron to get some of Duncan's hair left behind in the drain... hair that he's using to try to be cleared of Lily Kane's murder.)

Just when you thought you had Kendall pegged, along comes one hell of a shocker. Apparently she's the beneficiary should anything happen to her stepsons Dick and Beaver and Big Dick Casablancas took out quite an insurance policy on the boys--another tax shelter for the shifty mogul--and if something were to happen to both of the Casablancas boys, Kendall would get a seven figure payoff. Add to that the assumption that the explosion that caused the bus crash was from plastic explosives in Dick's goodie bag (he left it on the bus when he opted for limo transportation instead), and the finger of fraud points towards Kendall's ample figure.

Then there's the matter of Kendall's true identity. Turns out Kendall isn't quite who she claims to be... or how old she actually is (Or as Veronica so aptly put it, "The lengths a woman will go to to shave a few years off her age.") Kendall Casablancas, nee Kendall Shiflet, is actually someone named Priscilla Banks. It seems that she killed the real Kendall in a car accident many years before and assumed her identity, probably to avoid having to disclose that pesky prison stint for wire fraud.

And that's not the only thing Kendall is keeping hidden. Apparently she has another secret house in Neptune (yes, you read that correctly, a secret house) where she often entertains notorious local tough Liam Fitzpatrick, who happens to be tied up in the whole mystery of the bus crash as well. His grandmother's greenBarracudaa--which Liam seems to enjoy taking out for a spin--was seen racing by the scene of the bus crash seconds before the explosion. And Liam's cousin Danny Boyd has access to explosives--the same ones used at the demolition of the Sharks Stadium (where the Fitzpatricks killed PCH'er Thumper a few weeks back) and those found in Jackie's dad's garage, where someone planted them.

So is Kendall tied into the bus crash mystery that has propelled most of this season? It certainly seems like it. My money's still on Mayor Woody Goodman as some sadistic part of his incorporation scheme, but it's beginning to look like there's much more to Kendall than meets the eye.

Every hard-boiled town like Neptune needs a femme fatale and whatever Kendall's secrets might be, hopefully they're big enough to last beyond the season finale...

UPDATE ON NEXT SEASON: According to some tidbits I've picking up from the tracking boards about the possibility of the show returning next season (on the CW), the producers of Veronica Mars "were told they have nothing to worry about." Best news I've heard all week.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Scrubs (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); According to Jim/Hope & Faith (ABC); American Idol (FOX); America's Next Top Model* (UPN)

9 pm: The Unit (CBS); Scrubs/Teachers (NBC); Pepper Dennis (WB); Hope & Faith/Less Than Perfect (ABC); House (FOX); Veronica Mars* (UPN)

10 pm: CSI: Miami (CBS); Law & Order: SVU (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

N.B.: Los Angeles-area UPN viewers: be aware that UPN is pre-empting America's Next Top Model and Veronica Mars. UPN will air a repeat of America's Next Top Model at midnight and an original episode of Veronica Mars (see below) at 1:00 am instead. Your TiVo should know of the switcheroo, but be advised.

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gilmore Girls.

The countdown to the season finale--and the exit of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino--continues. In tonight's new episode of Gilmore Girls ("Super Cool Party People"), written by new showrunner David Rosenthal, Luke throws a birthday party for newly discovered daughter April at the diner (guess they're finally back from the world's longest school trip), while a worried Rory rushes to an injured Logan's bedside.

9 pm: Veronica Mars.

The twists just keep on coming. On tonight's episode ("Look Who's Stalking"), mayor's daughter and 09'er Gia turns to Veronica to unmask her stalker while Gia's dad--Mayor Woody Goodman--turns to Veronica's dad Keith to cover up a scandal... and what looks like the body of a dead hooker. So... just another day in Neptune then.

"Gilmore" Guy: Who is New Showrunner David Rosenthal?

A few days later and I am still processing the news that Gilmore Girls showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino--and her exceptionally talented husband, writer and producer Daniel Palladino--announced their departure from the whip-smart drama after six seasons. The news wouldn't be such a blow, save for the fact that Gilmore Girls is as much about Amy and Daniel as it is about Lorelai and Rory.

In their capable hands, the show explored a supremely complicated family dynamic through the beautiful friendship of mother and daughter Lorelai and Rory... and did so with smart dialogue usually found in a Nick & Nora film rather than on television. Zany subplots abounded as did quirky, beloved supporting characters. And now, after six seasons (including this most recent--and very shaky--season where Amy and Daniel wrote less episodes than usual), Amy and Daniel are passing on the showrunning torch to... Dave Rosenthal?!?

For those of you in the audience unfamiliar with David Rosenthal, here's a quick primer on his credits. He joined the Gilmore Girls writing staff at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season and has only written one episode of the show--"The UnGraduate"--to date (though his second scripted episode, "Super Cool Party People," airs tomorrow night). Prior to Gilmore Girls, his writing credits included the abysmal comedies Hope & Faith and Good Morning, Miami and he served as an executive producer on Spin City. Hardly the guy you'd expect to take over the reins from Amy to oversee Gilmore Girls.

Hoping to learn more about this guy, I tracked down a rather infamous Los Angeles Times Magazine article on Rosenthal, written by Janet Reitman, from 2002, entitled "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Ranter." Informative reading to say the least. According to Reitman, Rosenthal's success in Hollywood was meteoric by anyone's standards. A 1989 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the son of a rabbi, Rosenthal moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduation to pursue his dream of writing sitcoms.

Within a year, Rosenthal swiftly jumped from being a production assistant on Anything but Love (a sitcom which starred Richard Lewis and Jamie Lee Curtis) to staff writer on the same show; then two years later, another jump, this time to a head writer position on Ellen (yes, that Ellen; Rosenthal stayed for three years and then was reportedly fired). After a year-long stint developing sitcoms for Jeffrey Katzenberg, he was hired as a writer on Michael J. Fox's sitcom Spin City... and was quickly promoted to showrunner. Rosenthal married a fellow Spin City writer, bought a house and a Porsche, and landed a lucrative $2.5 million contract with Fox Television. By all accounts, Rosenthal seemed to have the perfect life.

But that's just the surface.

Going through my rolodex of Hollywood contacts, I stumbled upon someone who had actually worked with Dave Rosenthal in the past. I asked if I could ask her a few questions about Rosenthal and she agreed, as long as I maintained her anonymity. For that purpose, I'll refer to her by the pseudonym "Julia Thorn." (Ten points to whoever gets the reference.) A few years ago, "Julia" had worked in the same office as Rosenthal and became close to him.

I asked "Julia" how she would describe Rosenthal, based on the time they worked together. "When I knew him I felt like I had him pegged," she said. "He had just come off a big show, had lots of money, he was very young and successful and wanted to take advantage of it. He was always nice to me, but he definitely had this very arrogant air about him. It was like an air of entitlement or something. Like he was invincible and at the top of the world... My boss used to always say that his crash was coming soon, because he rose too fast, too easily."

And so did he crash? "The guy quit Spin City in order to concentrate on writing a play about his desire to have sex with Heidi Klum," Julia told me. "Dropped out of TV completely to do this. He pretty much had a breakdown, dropped out of society, and became the madman writing a misogynist play. He lived like this until his dad read the play and actually had him committed."

What?!? After speaking to Julia, I did some more digging. Rosenthal had in fact written a play called "Love" about his quest to get supermodel Heidi Klum to have sex with him. Reviews of the play, which apparently contained so many profanities that it rated an NC-17, were not kind. The New York Times called Rosenthal's play "not only offensive but incompetent" and said that the way that Rosenthal talked about Klum--whom he had met during a guest stint on Rosenthal's show Spin City--was "as cruel and disgusting as actual stalking."

The New York Times reviewer wasn't the only one perturbed by Rosenthal's play. Rosenthal had sent copies to his then agents at Endeavor--Ari Emanuel and Richard Weitz--who promptly dropped him as a client. His rabbi father, after reading the play, had Rosenthal briefly committed at UCLA Medical Center. Wait, what?

In 2001, Rosenthal appeared on Howard Stern's radio show and spoke about the incident. While I was unable to obtain a transcript of Rosenthal's appearance on the show, I did manage to find a fan site which paraphrased the appearance. According to site MarksFriggin.com, "David said he flew into L.A. one day after working in Miami and his father was there with two bodyguards who told him to come along peaceably or they'd have to take him by force. He was then committed to a mental hospital where they tried to make him take drugs. David said his lawyer sister was able to get him out when she threatened his father with a lawsuit. Howard found all of this fascinating. According to David there's a law in California that says a family member can have you committed to a mental institution for 72 hours if they tell a psychologist that you're mental."
So, how had Rosenthal, a formerly brilliant, determined, and successful writer, hit rock bottom? According to Janet Reitman in her aforementioned Los Angeles Times Magazine profile, the problem was Rosenthal's sudden and complete infatuation with Klum:

"What propelled Rosenthal into his downward spiral was the sudden realization that all he really wanted from life was to have sex with supermodel Heidi Klum, an occasional guest star on Spin City whom Rosenthal describes as 'the most beautiful woman I've ever met.'

He found Klum smart, sensitive, sweet, beautiful--yet another revelation, given that, as an industry man, Rosenthal had previously thought of beautiful women as 'pieces of meat.' He would marry Heidi Klum, he realized, if only she weren't already married. The idea of that was too much for him, so Rosenthal decided the sensible thing to do was to quit Fox, divorce his wife, sell his Porsche and give more than $1 million, in $52,000 grants, to 20 young women, several of whom he'd never met, but whose artistic pursuits he believed in."

A "scholarship" for young women? Rosenthal called his cash giveaway "The Creators" and there were no strings attached for the young women who received his scholarships. They were all wannabe writers or actresses, many from the assistant pool where Rosenthal worked at Fox, whom he wanted to help achieve their dreams and work on their craft. According to Reitman, Rosenthal's scholarship fund donated $1000 per week for one year to 20 women so that they could "create art--any kind of art, from writing to painting to acting." Were any of the women he supported successful? I'm not sure. What was Rosenthal's impetus to begin a project like this? Again, I'm not sure anyone but Rosenthal knows that. It's a curious juxtaposition, though: this desire to support young, creative women achieve their dreams set against what many decried as the innate misogyny of his play.

At the time Reitman wrote her profile, Rosenthal was living in virtual exile in New York, but he has since returned to Los Angeles, a city that once supported and then shunned him, and is now poised to take over as showrunner on Gilmore Girls. I asked "Julia" what she thought of the announcement. "Apparently, he did get a lot of help when he was committed, and I imagine he came back to Hollywood with his tail between his legs to a certain extent, so I think he is grateful to have the job," she told me. "I don't think that anyone can really run [Gilmore Girls] besides Amy and Dan. I think this is going to be like Aaron Sorkin leaving West Wing. I think [Rosenthal] is a decent choice, but the show will never be Gilmore Girls again."

We may never know the reason behind the decision to replace Amy Sherman-Palladino with Rosenthal as Gilmore Girls' showrunner and my research has only left me with more questions than answers. I am trying to separate my own feelings about the hand-over, yet I can't help but feel that Rosenthal is an odd choice to run a show about two intelligent and headstrong women.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The King of Queens/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); 7th Heaven (WB); Wife Swap (ABC); Prison Break (FOX); Major League Baseball (UPN)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); The Apprentice (NBC); Everwood (WB); Supernanny (ABC); 24 (FOX)

10 pm: CSI: Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC); What About Brian (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

7 pm: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. (That's 10 pm for you East Coasters... or Left Coasters who'd rather catch the later showing.)

This week, everyone's favorite sarcastic chef, writer, and Travel Channel host jets off to Sweden, the land of model-esque women, meatballs, and modular furniture.

8 pm: 5 Takes: Pacific Rim.

This week, the gang heads to the eerily sounding Northern Territory of Australia. Honestly, I don't care what they do, I love this show that much.

9:30 pm: Old Christine.

In tonight's episode ("Teach Your Children Well"), Christine throws an arts-and-crafts party for son Ritchie, instead of giving into pressure to throw a glitzy affair. It's a kid's birthday party, Christine, I'm on your side. Play some pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, unwrap some presents, hand out some cake, and call it a day.

10 pm: Elizabeth I.

Rather than miss all of the above, I'll catch the second airing of Part 2 of HBO's lavish biopic of Queen Elizabeth I over on HBO2. Elizabeth (the incomparable Helen Mirren), torn between the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex, must balance her personal desires with a strategic marriage. Will she give in? Something--namely history--tells me no.

"Big" Mystery: What's Up With Alby?

What the HELL?

That's the question that went through my head as I watched the latest episode of Big Love. That shock and confusion was directed squarely at the character of Alby Grant and the swirl of mysteries that seemed to surround him in this episode.

Alby's always been a creepy one (see: threatening Teenie, grabbing Ben by the throat), but this episode took him to a whole new level of creepiness. Is Alby a misunderstood soul... or a cold-blooded killer waiting to strike? You decide.

Clue #1: Papa Roman sends Alby off on a "holy mission" and says that he'll be gone for two days. But before that, he made it clear that Alby was to stay away from the Henrickson family. So the mission then had nothing to do with Bill?

Clue #2: Alby breaks into Home Plus and is rifling through Bill's office when he's caught. But if he's supposed to stay away from Bill, is breaking into his office the best approach? Something tells me that Alby's break-in was his own idea and not part of Roman's plan. So then: what was he looking for?

Clue #3: Alby has a bag in the back of his car containing a large knife, duct tape, and rope. My first inclination is that he's plotting to kidnap someone. If so, who? And is it related to Roman's mission... or totally unrelated?

Clue #4: Alby picks up a male hustler at a grocery store and takes him back to his motel, where Alby remarks that the back window is open before making himself a sandwich. Is Alby planning to have sex with the hustler? Or kill him? When the hustler makes a move, Alby begins to knock his (own) head against the wall, in some sort of fit. But when the hustler leaves, Alby's fine, as though nothing had happened. Was he faking? Is he secretly gay? Or completely psychotic?

While the scenes for next week's episode didn't even feature Alby, I am still wracking my brains to decipher quite what happened there. Any theories?

Pilot Inspektor: Gossip from the Tracking Boards

Well, it's crunch time here in Hollywood when the networks have to decide which pilots are going to get ordered before the May upfront presentations of their schedules to advertisers in New York. It's getting down to the wire and all over town producers are biting their nails as each waits to receive word on the fate of their latest TV opus.

Those in the know will drift onto one of the ubiquitous tracking boards--the online equivalent of a gossipy coffee klutch--to find out the no-holds barred low-down on their pilots. These boards can make or break a project and, in the case of a feature script, determine whether a writer is going to end up with a seven-figure purchase price or yet another pass.

Through a top-secret contact, I was able to gather some information--unsubstantiated but reliable--about many of the pilots in contention for the fall schedules of the major networks. It's far from a complete list, but below is a sample of what's being said about the current crop of drama pilots. Beware and take any rumors with a large--very large--grain of salt.

ABC

ABC's best bets for pilots receiving series orders include: Traveler, about two friends who are on the lam after being framed by a friend, which is said to be studio Warner Bros. TV's favorite pilot; drama Six Degrees; and mysteries Drift and Secrets of a Small Town, which tested extremely well.

Less of a lock for an order are the American adaptation of telenovela Ugly Betty and A House Divided, a drama about a potential second American civil war.

Almost certain to die in the pilot stage: psychological thriller 60 Minute Man, which was described as a disaster; the conspiracy-themed 20 Questions; and family drama Brothers & Sisters--reportedly series lead Calista Flockhart tested poorly.

FOX

FOX is said to be extremely high on three series, which rumor has it will all receive early series orders next week: hostage negotiation drama Primary (said to be "scorching hot"); serialized kidnapping drama Vanished (not to be confused with NBC's Kidnapped); and legal drama Damages.

FOX is said to like treasure hunter drama 13 Graves, but is less certain about high-powered legal drama American Crime and ensemble crime drama Southern Comfort, both of which were seen to be middle of the road for FOX.

Dead in the water are NASA space drama Beyond; Sean Bean-lead crime drama Faceless (shooting was said to be a fiasco and FOX was unhappy with the cut); and wedding photographer drama Wedding Album, which should be left at the altar.

NBC

Over at struggling NBC, the network is supposedly very happy with their series adaptation of football drama Friday Night Lights and they are very high on Heroes, which is probably the most likely to get a series order out of all of their pilots--and which may be NBC's answer to Lost. Less certain is psychological mystery Raines. And supernatural/political drama Haskett's Chance? Not a snowball's chance in hell to make it onto the schedule.

The CW

With the CW being formed out of the ashes of netlets the WB and UPN, there's a hell of a lot less room on their fall schedule than anywhere else. However, some series seem more likely to return than others. UPN comedies likely to return include All Of Us, Girlfriends, and Everybody Hates Chris. From the WB, things look rosy for dramas Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Supernatural, and of all things--7th Heaven?!?

The hot properties in development then include Flirt, Split Decision, and Mercy Creek (a.k.a. Aquaman). Apparently, the jury is still out on the Desperate Housewives-meets-The OC drama from Kevin Williamson.

So will Primary, Vanished, and Damages get early series pick-ups next week? Will out-there NBC "superhero" drama Heroes become TV's next big thing? Only time will tell...

"Scrubs" Resuscitated by NBC?

It seems as though rumors of Scrubs' death may have been greatly exaggerated, after all.

The latest rumor in the back-and-forth about the show's future has Scrubs, the beleaguered (but hilarious) NBC sitcom which stars Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Judy Reyes, and John C. McGinley, returning next season, despite many naysayers who predicted just the opposite.

It's still too early to tell if the show will make a full recovery, however, as NBC has yet to issue an official statement on the pickup. (However, TV Guide's Ausiello seems pretty darn sure of himself.)

Fingers crossed that the little comedy that could pulls through... and manages to find a timeslot on the schedule that sticks.

Channel Surfing: 4.21.06

HBO Renews "Love" Vows

Cable network HBO has renewed its freshman series Big Love--Televisionary's favorite new drama--for a second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The news comes as the series, about a polygamist and his three wives and their family, hits its halfway point this week. Production on the second season of Big Love will begin in August, with the second season expected to air on HBO sometime in 2007.

However, it is doubtful that Big Love will be paired with its current lead-in, The Sopranos, which will air its final eight episodes beginning in January 2007. Big Love is expected to return later that year, possibly in The Sopranos' current 9 pm timeslot on Sundays.

As for the early pickup, HBO president of entertainment Carolyn Strauss told the Hollywood Reporter, "We all just felt the show was really solid and only getting better... It's gathering momentum with subscribers and critics."

And with me, as I've become obsessed with the Henrickson clan. Let's just hope that HBO is better with the budget than Nicki.

Facing Heat, NBC Cools Off "Celebrity Cooking Showdown"

As the saying goes, if you can't stand the heat...

With only two installments remaining of the botched week-long stunt Celebrity Cooking Showdown (so bad it was just plain bad), NBC shelved the reality series yesterday, deciding instead to show the two final episodes on website NBC.com rather than air them. (UPDATE: The two remaining episodes will also air back-to-back on Saturday evening on NBC.)

The cancellation comes after the series' worse performance to date. The episode that aired Wednesday evening placed a distant fifth among adults 18-49, according to The Futon Critic, with only the WB's on-the-bubble teen drama One Tree Hill pulling in less viewers in the key demo.

Tonight, NBC brings you yet another dull-as-dishwater game show--Deal or No Deal--in its place.

Bon appetit.

"Lost" Creator Finds "Trek"

After revitalizing the Mission: Impossible, MI:3 director J.J. Abrams has been hired by Paramount to breathe some new life into another film franchise, namely long-dormant Star Trek. Variety is reporting that Abrams, creator of Felicity, Alias, and Lost, has been locked to produce an eleventh Trek outing.

While there is no deal in place currently for Abrams to direct the next Star Trek film (though apparently Abrams isn't ruling it out either), he will co-write the script with MI:3 (and former Alias) scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Variety also infers that the film will be produced by Abrams' producing team, which includes Lost's Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk.

It is believed that the plot of Abrams' Trek film will center on younger versions of the seminal characters of James Kirk and Spock, their first meeting at the Starfleet Academy, and first mission.

While I'm not a Trek fan, I am a J.J. fanatic, so all I can say is: Make it so.

Mick Jagger: TV Star?

Variety is reporting that rock icon Mick Jagger is in negotiations for an ABC pilot about some blue-collar thieves who plot the robbery of a celebrity. Jagger would play the heist's target, a.k.a himself.

Taking a page from Being John Malkovitch, the currently untitled project was formerly known as I Want to Rob Jeff Goldblum, but Jeff Goldblum has his own pilot at over at rival network NBC. Jagger was instead chosen as the celebrity in question after the script received a pilot order last year.

However, Jagger would appear in only several of the pilot's scenes, and--unlike Goldblum, the show's original target--his name is not expected to appear in the title. Should the pilot be picked up to series, Jagger would be expected to film scenes as the plot builds towards the robbery.

Judging from the show's premise, something tells me that won't even be an issue.

"Office" Expansion

Dunder Mifflin fans, rejoice!

Yesterday, NBC announced their schedule for May sweeps and I was surprised and excited to see that it includes a special supersized season finale of The Office.

Scheduled to air on May 11th (from 9:20-10:00 pm), The Office's plus-sized season finale is written by star Steve Carrell and will run 40 minutes, instead of their usual 30-minute timeslot (well, with commercials, anyway--take those out and the writers only usually have 20 minutes to work with). According to NBC's press release, the episode ("Casino Night") will focus on Michael (Steve Carell) organizing a charity Casino Night for the Dunder Mifflin employees in the warehouse.

Thank you, NBC! (It almost makes up for you forcing Celebrity Cooking Challenge on the public... well, almost.) Ten extra minutes of Office goodness... and ten webisodes this summer!

The news makes being in my own office nearly bearable.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Ghost Whisperer (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Survival of the Richest (WB); America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC); Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (FOX; 8-10 pm); Major League Baseball (UPN)

9 pm: Close to Home (CBS); Miss USA 2006 (NBC); Reba/Modern Men (WB); Primetime (ABC; 9-10:30 pm)

10 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); 20/20 (ABC; 10:30-11 pm)

What I'll Be Watching

6-8 pm: High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman/Little Britain/Creature Comforts.

Looks like I'll be settling in with my favorite fake psychic Shirley "Shushy" Ghostman, the psychotic denizens of Little Britain, and some plasticine animals with human voices on Creature Comforts. Should be quite an evening.

9 pm: Doctor Who.

My love affair with Doctor Who continues. On tonight's episode ("The Long Game"), the gang travels to the future, where new companion Adam--he joined Rose and the Doctor last episode--comes to the conclusion that journeying with a Time Lord is never safe or easy. If he's not looking for danger, he might want to stay home then watching Creature Comforts instead.

"Gilmore Girls" Creator Sherman-Palladino to Leave Stars Hollow

In a move that is less surprising than it is depressing, Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has announced that she is leaving the show that she created and guided over the last six seasons, reportedly turning down what was a nearly $5 million paycheck, according to Variety. Sherman-Palladino's husband, Gilmore Girls writer-producer Daniel Palladino, will also be departing.

The studio behind Gilmore Girls, Warner Bros. Television, immediately announced Sherman-Palladino's successor, Gilmore veteran Dave Rosenthal, who will step in as the showrunner for the long-running drama when it moves to the new CW network this fall. (Well, that bit hasn't been officially announced yet, but Gilmore Girls is pretty much a lock for the CW's fall schedule.)

Warner Bros. TV reportedly offered Sherman-Palladino and her husband a one-year deal worth nearly $5 million if she signed on for the seventh season of Gilmore Girls, most likely the drama's final season. However, both Sherman-Palladino and Palladino wanted a two-year deal, which Warner Bros. TV could not agree to since there are no deals in place for either the series or the cast to return after next season.

WBTV and the CW had the following to say, in an official statement released jointly by the studio and network:

"While we are disappointed that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino have decided not to stay with the show next season, we are very confident that Dave Rosenthal, an experienced writer-producer with the show, will make the transition seamless moving into the seventh year of Gilmore Girls."

Unfortunately, I couldn't agree less.

I mean no disrespect to Dave Rosenthal, but most likely this season's finale of Gilmore Girls will be the last episode I watch. To me, the show is the supremely gifted love child of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. Combined, they have written more than 90 episodes of Gilmore Girls and it is those episodes in which the show, its many multi-layered characters, and its trademark dialogue truly shine. Without Amy and Daniel at the helm--as Gilmore Girls had been for much of this current season--the show just isn't the same. It feels lackluster and forced, instead of the show that I have followed and loved for so many years.

To Amy and Daniel, I can only say this: thank you for six magical years of wonderful, poignant, hilarious, and touching stories. And whatever you do next, I'll be watching.

Reality Check: Hippies "Race" to Last Place

Something strange is in the air this season on The Amazing Race. Last week, the hippies barely squeaked by elimination and Phil instead sent home the completely irritating and borderline abusive (think Jonathan and Victoria) team of Lake and Michelle. I was stunned and then exhilarated that the hippies managed to escape sudden death and that had Lake and Michelle arrived a few minutes earlier, they still would have had to wait out their 15-minute time penalty (for also failing to complete clue directions as indicated).

Fast-forward a week and the situation has gotten even more tangled. Somehow the team that many viewed as dead weight--that would be oldies Fran and Barry--managed to climb from the back of the pack all the way to first place while the two strongest competitors have sunk to the bottom. Is this trend permanent? Or will we see yet another shake-up on the next leg of the Race?

(1st) Fran and Barry.

I am amazed at how well Fran and Barry performed in last night's episode. They have an innate knowledge of maps and directions, which usually works to their advantage (most of the other teams can't seem to read a map), though this is also the team that has the most difficulties actually finding the clue box most of the time. (As in the first leg of the race where they walked by the clue box--in plain sight, mind you--about a dozen times before the Pink Girls pointed it out.) Will they manage to maintain their lead? I'm not too sure as their mapping skills are unfortunately superior to their speed and physical strength. But they might just make it to the final three...

(2nd) MoJo (a.k.a. Monica and Joseph).

Wow, Monica and Joseph were furious that Fran and Barry managed to beat them to the pit stop and walked away with first place. MoJo is one of those teams that manages to stay towards the top most of the time but never snags the lead. Still, they are in a pretty good position but next week's episode foretells some major stress on their romantic relationship. Not the smartest team out of the bunch, they nonetheless can usually complete the physical challenges quickly, unless it involves carrying a swordfish through an Italian market, in which case Monica is liable to break down. If they can't get past the tensions of next week's episode, I think they'll self-destruct.

(3rd) Ray and Yolanda.

I was surprised that Ray and Yolanda actually found the pit stop last night. While I was impressed with them early on, they've been bugging me lately with their constant squabbling and bickering, much of which is totally blown out of proportion (i.e., the "cussing" incident). While strong physical competitors (Yolanda usually kicks ass and remember how Ray carried that heavy bell by himself?), their inability to find their destinations usually ends up with them at the bottom of the heap. Still, they're smack in the middle this week and if they continue that trend (it's served them well so far in the race), they could sneak by elimination again.

(4th) Eric and Jeremy.

Eric and Jeremy. What can you say about these preening and misogynistic frat boys (well, frat boys who didn't actually complete college)? Somehow, through dumb luck (emphasis on dumb) and decent teamwork, they've managed to come in first place in many a leg of this Race. They're strong physical competitors and not afraid to storm into a situation half-cocked and have swept most of the teams away (like how they breezed in and stole the fast forward last week from MoJo from right under their noses). But this leg of the race was unkind to them for once, especially as they began the leg with a huge lead on the other teams, and they quickly sank to the bottom by getting lost, not once, but twice in Oman. I was hoping that they'd take longer to get to the pit stop and get eliminated, just to see the looks on their overly tanned faces.

(5th) BJ and Tyler.

Poor BJ and Tyler. Along with Eric and Jeremy, they are a super-strong team and have been at the top of the bunch more often than not, claiming first place a few times. Some find their endless mugging to be irritating but I can't get enough of them--they're funny, supportive of one another, and out to have a good time. They always have a genuine appreciation of their surroundings (they even learn some simple phrases for whatever country they're in) and actually always seem like they're having fun. But they managed--barely--to escape Phil-imination last week (I blame driving an hour out of the way in the wrong direction) and this week was no better.

Managing to catch up to the other teams and establish a tied first place lead with Fran and Barry, the team got stuck at a particularly grueling roadblock, which involved digging up hundreds of sand dunes to find six underground ovens, containing a Middle Eastern delicacy. As other teams arrived and one by one got their clue, poor BJ was stuck digging--and in many cases re-digging--every single dune in 90 degree weather and the intense heat of the sun. In the end, he was nearly catatonic but Tyler continued to cheer him on and he finally received the clue. Fortunately, it was a non-elimination round--the first on this Amazing Race so far--and Phil stripped BJ and Tyler of all of their money and belongings. Additionally, they will receive no money at the outset of the next leg. Will this optimistic and zany team manage to climb out of last place?

I think their current standing will force the hippies, no longer weighed down by the burden of material possessions, to be even more forceful and resourceful and climb back out of their predicament. My predictions? I think it will come down to BJ and Tyler facing off against Eric and Jeremy. As for who takes home the million dollar prize at the end of the race, I'm hoping that we'll see the hippies dancing and laughing as they step onto the mat first.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (CBS); Will & Grace/My Name is Earl* (NBC); Smallville (WB); American Inventor (ABC); That '70s Show/That '70s Show (FOX); Everybody Hates Chris/Love, Inc. (UPN)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigati