We already know that big changes are coming to “Stargate - Atlantis” next season. Now comes news of a sci-fi veteran’s addition to the cast. GateWorld has:

Actress Nicole de Boer has been cast in an upcoming episode of Stargate Atlantis, executive producer Joseph Mallozzi told readers of his blog. de Boer will play Dr. Alison Porter in “Whispers,” expected to air as the seventh episode of Season Five.

I’ve always enjoyed de Boer in both DS9 and “The Dead Zone”. She should fit well into Atlantis and will give the cast the female boost it needs. Amanda Tapping should have provided strong female leadership to the cast, but failed to do so (although it wasn’t her fault).

Also in the article is an indication of an “all-woman Atlantis recon team” with the list of other team members.

This news and the addition of Woolsey has me excited about next season. How about you?

Last night, Timothy Olyphant guest starred on “Samantha Who?” as one of Samantha’s bosses. Having an actor of his caliber on the show can only mean good things, and there were.

I like the idea of Sam not fawning over Todd, and Funk was a perfect distraction. The revelation that she had a serious relationship with someone (other than Todd) that was close to marriage pre-accident was a perfect catalyst to the show. Although I was disappointed at the end. After last week’s episode, Todd shouldn’t get jealous so easily. But I’ll forgive that, and the forced Andrea side story, for a nearly flawless episode. I do hope that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Winston Funk.

Samantha’s parents were hilarious as always drooling over Funk at dinner. This was a much better week for Jean Smart’s character, Regina. Last week I found the drunken antics a little off for the show. Also, I believe that Dena works best in small doses.

What did you think of this episode? Is Winston Funk good for the show?

Ron Moore is a busy man. Not only with the final season of BSG wrapping up, and the coming spin-off “Caprica”, but now a new backdoor pilot for Fox. Hollywood Reporter has:

Fox has given the green light to “Virtuality,” a two-hour back-door pilot from “Battlestar Galactica” mastermind Ronald D. Moore.

The sci-fi project, from Universal Media Studios and producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, is set aboard the Phaeton, Earth’s first starship, on a 10-year journey to explore a distant solar system. To help the 12 crew members endure the long trip and keep their minds occupied, NASA equipped the ship with advanced virtual reality modules, allowing them to assume adventurous identities and go to any place they want. The plan works until a mysterious “bug” is found in the system.

The show sounds like ST:TNG crossed with HAL 9000. It could be interesting, especially if is garners a mainstream audience and stays on-air. Although they seem to greenlight a large amount of Sci-Fi programming, Fox doesn’t usually give them a chance to gain audience.

I think this kind of show is perfect for Moore? What do you think?

The upcoming Rob Thomas 90210 spin-off is starting to get a cast. EW.com has some news.

AnnaLynne McCord (Nip/Tuck) has joined the cast of CW’s planned spinoff of Beverly Hills 90210, from executive producer Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars). McCord will play Naomi, a hot, rich, and popular Beverly Hills high schooler (is there any other kind?). There are still many roles to be cast for the drama, which is in contention for fall, but Thomas has already cast Dustin Milligan (The Messengers) as Ethan, a likable star athlete.

McCord was a very week part of this season’s “Nip/Tuck”. I wasn’t impressed at all with her acting, and her character came off more annoying than seductive. Although, her perceived personality fits well into the 90210-verse.

If this show is going to succeed, I believe it needs to cast established actors as adults on the show. Just as “Veronica Mars” had Enrico Colantoni, this show needs a similar (if not better) base.

What do you think of McCord? Good casting decision?

The already shortened “Lost” season was cut even shorter by the WGA Stike. Producers are making up for one of the 3 lost hours with a super-sized season finale. Sci-Fi Wire has:

ABC confirmed that it has ordered an additional hour of Lost and that the SF hit’s two-hour season-four finale will air May 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

ABC’s announcement on April 14 confirmed a rumor, first reported by TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello. The additional hour brings to 14 the number of hours in Lost’s strike-truncated fourth season.

ABC noted that Lost will be pre-empted on May 22 due to a special two-hour Grey’s Anatomy season finale.

Lost returns with the first of five new episodes on April 24 in its new timeslot, Thursdays at 10 p.m.

The 3 hour finale is spread over two weeks (1 hour then 2 hours). With the way this has come about I assume that the producers/writers needed more time to complete the season arc, and asked for more time. I doubt (and hope not) that this isn’t just filler.

What are your feelings on a 3 hour finale?

At “CSI”, recent negotiations with William Peterson went well. Now another series original may be leaving. TVGuide’s Ausiello has:

Sources confirm to me exclusively that original CSIer Gary Dourdan — whose contract is also set to expire next month — is leaving the show. Although a precise timeframe is not known, CSI’s May 15 season finale could serve as Warrick’s swan song.

Regarding Dourdan’s exit, a CBS spokesperson says, “We can’t confirm or deny this information.”

I came to “CSI” late, so my opinion of Warrick may be incomplete. His leaving doesn’t bother me at all. I have been disappointed with his storyline lately, and it’s probably time for him to move on. The flagship “CSI” needs some new blood, and the Warrick character is a good place to start.

Do you agree? Will you miss Warrick? Does CSI need new blood?

I love the X-Files. I was a late bloomer, but halfway through the series I started to like the series. I caught most of the episodes on TNT at 4am, when I was staying up all night writing one of my screenplays. It was then, that I became a huge fan of the show. In fact, it’s in my top favorites. So the thought of me desperately sweating as I try to wait patiently for the new X-Files sequal to come out isn’t too hard to imagine.

Well, there is a new dvd set coming out called The X-Files Revelations, and will be somewhat like the Mythology dvd.TV Shows on DVD has the press release.

CENTURY CITY, Calif. – The truth will be out there… Fox Home Entertainment presents an exclusive insider’s pass to the science-fiction television phenomenon just in time for its second trip to the big screen when “THE X-FILES” REVELATIONS descends onto a two-disc DVD collection July 8th. Selected by eight-time Emmy® Award nominated series creator Chris Carter himself, all eight full hour episodes in the compilation include special on-camera introductions by Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz, revealing why each were chosen and how they relate to the highly anticipated feature film, invading theaters on July 25th.

Interesting! Though, I personally, will not purchase this dvd. I still haven’t bought all the seasons yet, and I would like to finish that, so these select episode dvds haven’t really interested me too much. It’s only the curiosity of how these episodes apply to the new movie, that interests me. Although, the WomderCon panel, included as a special feature, does tempt me.

Every week day at 1:50, I sit in the break room at work for my ten minute break. Throughout the entire day, the television is tuned to only one channel. CBS, I think. At 9:15, we put up the horror that is the dancing yhetti on Regis. At 11:35, we watch Drew Carey as he attempts to fill Bob Barkers shoes.

But it’s every week day at 1:50 thats the worst, because at that time I am sitting at the table, looking in disgust at the sham of a production that is the Bold and the Beautiful, and wonder, to myself, why do people watch these shows?

During my first six months on the job, I literally saw the same scene a million times: some 70 year old woman fighting with her 40 year old son over his 20 year old girlfriend. Or maybe it was his future wife. Or perhaps, the old woman’s future wife. I really didn’t care all that much. It was hoaky! Although, the lines were slightly different each time, it was obvious that they just recycled the same directions over and over again .

I scratch my head when I think about how many of these shows there are and how long they have been on.

Everyone knows that the acting is cheap, the situations are beyond unlikely, and the writing would almost put Uwe Boll to shame. Almost.

And yet, these shows have been on for decades. They even have their own channel.

I just can’t get my head out of the “why?” I just can’t let it go. Do people watch these because they are so stupid? Do they get a laugh out of these? Is it because each episode gives the impression that something interesting will happen in the next episode? Is it because girls watch these and dream about a similar romance? If so, is that why they dragged their unwilling boyfriends to see The Notebook?

Perhaps, this is a question that can be best answered by shows’ target audience. So I ask you, watchers of the soaps, why do you watch these?

Sometimes on Lost, the show generates more questions than answers. If they answer anything, then it is just so they can open up a bigger mystery.

Sometimes people on that show are driven to say “What?”

It starts to get annoying, but watch it all the way to the end.

Last night on “My Name Is Earl” we continue the story with Earl in a coma. In his coma state, Earl dreams of being in a “Leave It To Beaver” style sitcom, The Hickeys. It worked in its debut, but now seems overused.

Yes, some of the funniest parts of the episode were within the faux-sitcom, but it didn’t work for me. It allowed Jason Lee and Alyssa Milano (more on that later) to participate in a Randy-centric episode, but that should have been accomplished a different way. Ethan Slurpee (Randy) was really showcased in the episode, and he carried it well. Randy needs more attention.

Alyssa Milano’s time on the show seems to be being wasted. There is no character development for Billie as she lives in Earls fantasy world. I’d really hoped for a more long term story arc for Billie.

Are you enjoying “The Hickeys”? How about Alyssa?

Sarah Chalke’s guest spot on “How I Met Your Mother” was somewhat overshadowed by the stunt casting of Britney Spears. But, I thought she was great, and that her character is perfect for a on again, off again love interest for Ted. TVGuide is reporting a possible return.

I’m hearing from multiple sources that Sarah Chalke is in advanced talks to reprise her role as Ted’s possible future wife on How I Met Your Mother.

In fact, just moments ago, Chalke’s Mother crush himself, Josh Radnor — here to shoot a guest appearance for next week’s Ausiello Report vodcast — confirmed that we’d probably be seeing Stella for a “few more episodes” this season. He was quick to add, however, that he has no clue whether or not she’s the mother. “I really don’t know,” he said, “nor do I ask.”

As opposed to the obvious stunt casting of Spears, both Chalke and Wayne Brady (Barney’s Brother) worked well within the storyline of the series. There are there to bring quality, not just new viewers. I’d like to see her return.

Is she the mother? I’d like her to be, and by now we should have met her. One telling is that anytime Ted meets someone he really likes, they end the show with the Bob Saget voiceover, sometimes like, “And that’s how I met your Aunt Stella. The end of this episode was silent.

We know the mother was at the same St. Patrick’s Day party (yellow umbrella), as was Stella. The only problem could be that Stella already has a child. We have yet to see a future stepchild for Ted (in the pre-rolls), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

Would it hurt the show to find out who is the mother? Do you like Chalke on the show? Is she the mother?

NPH is apparently not a fan of Briteny Spears’ appearance. Thats cool, niether was I!Yahoo TV reports.

I’m totally with NPH on this! I don’t like celebrity walk ons. They usually feel out of place, and unnecessary! With HIMYM, I totally dig the cast and I don’t need to see a special guest appearance by Britney Spears ,or any other celebrity they can get,t o enjoy the show. As far as Ted’s girlfriends and future wife go, I want girls that are fresh and have a natural quality to them. People who feel like they belong on the same screen with same characters, and when sitcoms do this, I just don’t buy it. I see it for what it really is, a gimmick to get more viewers, and usually it works. So I guess, I can’t blame the networks for doing it!

In this installment, we pit the late night comedy of Saturday Night Live up against the late night comedy of Mad TV. The entire history of both show is taken into account, so we are not just comparing the most recent seasons.

SNL, of course, has a longer history with audiences. In fact, it has about nearly more than a decade on Mad TV.

SNL has a higher quality in it’s productions. It’s sets, hair, make-up, and impressions are usually pretty good. They even have quite a selection of hosts and musical guests, except when certain non-actors hosted the shows and stunk up the place with their unfunny-auto-pilot acting.

Mad TV, on th eother hand, had cheaper impressions and less superior makeup jobs, in my opinion. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t at all funny. They’ve made me laugh quite a bit.

Of course, I watched Mad TV a lot less than I did SNL. Some of it’s skits I’ve found funny, many I didn’t. While I found the Emo Elmo and their many claymation skits to be quite entertaining, the likes of Jason Takes NASA (an idea that entually became a movie, Jason X—why?!!)  really haunt my memory of the show.

To be fair, even in my favorite years of SNL, there were plenty of skits I hated. The skits were Farley, Spade, and Sandler played teenage girls come to mind. By the way, I just quivered from the memory! There’s also Ana Gasteyer’s skit about the two stoned radio personas, who spoke in really soft voices.  Oh, and why they occupy the cast members’ greatest hits collections, I also hated Will Ferril and Cheri Oteri’s Cheerleader skits and the male groupies skits.

But, SNL was worse than those skits and Mad TV combined, during the mid-80’s when Anthony Michael Hall was in the cast. I’ve never seen any of those skits re-aired.

But where there is shame, glory can be found. While there was those skits, you could always find stuff like “Bill Braskey!!!,” Dan Akyroid’s shady toy guy, Wayne’s World, anything Belushi, Harry Carry’s talk show, Ferril’s Bush and the other presidential impressions,”the cowbell”, the great Phil Hartman, the Roxberry boys, Ben Stiller’s encounter with one of the guys from The Eagles….ok, that last one was kind of messed up!

Out of the two, obviously I pick SNL, though it’s kind of lost me in the newer seasons. I’ve tried watching from time to time, but I just don’t find what I’ve seen to be that funny, though I quite enjoy the McGuiver parody!

While I ind SNL’s comedy more prudent to my tastes, this whole battle depends on what kind of comedy you, the readers, prefer.

So who wins? SNL? Mad TV? Another show? Neither? You decide!

The direct to DVD “Stargate - Continuum” had a release date announced last week. This week we have details on the release. TVShowsOnDVD has:

The cost is confirmed to be $26.98 SRP, which is the same as the previous “DTV” release of Stargate - The Ark of Truth. Running time is 99 minutes for a Widescreen (1.78:1) feature with an English - Dolby Surround 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles in English, French, & Spanish are also on board. In addition, you’ll get the following bonus content:

• Commentary with Executive Producer/Writer Brad Wright and Director Martin Wood

• Featurette: “The Making of Stargate: Continuum”
• Featurette: “Stargate Goes to The Arctic”
• Featurette: “The Layman’s Guide to Time Travel”

Ark of Truth was more a series finally than a movie. It wrapped up much of what the series had been over the last few seasons. Continuum looks to be more a true movie. The story should be self contained, but drawing on the series.

Last week as a convention in Vancouver, the first trailer was shown. You can see a shaky-cam version on YouTube here.

TIVO has long said to have very accurate metrics on the viewing habits of American viewers. With the tight measurements they make (number of pauses, length of pauses, rewinds, etc.) they give a good picture of how people are watching. Now, they are using this info to predict “American Idol”. TMZ has:

Here’s the deal. In a sample of 20,000 users, TiVo monitors traffic — which contestants get replayed (a sign of popularity) and which one’s get fast-forwarded.

You think it’s bogus? Well, the TiVo system has nailed who got booted four weeks in a row.

The key to the predication is in interpreting the data. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.“. Just because you have the data, doesn’t mean you’re interpreting it properly. They are assuming that replayed=popularity. Maybe rewind=so bad it’s funny.

In our house, we’ve turned watching Idol into a sprint. We record it (DVR), then fast forward through just about everything except the performances (even the poor ones). Elimination night is even faster. Fast forward to the guest performer (maybe), then move to the end and see who goes. I could watch the [meaningful part of the] whole season in 2 hours.

Do you watch Idol? If so, how do you watch? If not, did you ever and why did you stop?

He came into the series as it hit big, but still made an impact himself. From athlete, to freedom fighter, to fighter pilot, to cylon. Actor Michael Trucco (Anders) will be interviewed on SliceOfSciFi this Saturday.

Michael Trucco, the man who stars as Samuel Anders — freedom/resistance fighter, reserve viper pilot, Starbuck’s husband and yes, a frakin’ Cylon, is our guest this week on Slice of SciFi Show #156, ready for download from your favorite podcatcher on Saturday, April 12 and one week later on Monday April 21 on XM-Satellite Radio’s Sonic Theater.

I like the Anders character, and I’m glad that he was brought back into the show [rescued]. Trucco worked through a long list of guest star roles to get to BSG. As with most of the cast, he’s enjoyable to watch and keeps you invested in his character.

SliceOfSciFi does great interviews, so this should be good. Don’t forget to check it out.

Stanley Kamel, the actor who played Monk’s psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger, has passed away at age 65. Access Hollywood quotes a statement from a USA Network representative:

USA is deeply saddened by the news of Stanley Kamel’s passing. Stanley was an amazingly talented and extremely kind man, and an important member of the USA family. He will be sorely missed.

Kamel had a very long and varied career, and is familiar to many. I really loved his work as Dr. Kroger, and I wonder how the series will handle his loss. I am confident that the show will address the issue well, but I hope that they take the opportunity to make a fitting tribute to the actor instead of simply replacing him.

While a lot has been said lately of “young actors lost before their time” I think that even those out of their twenties are leaving us too soon.

CBS let one episode of Secret Talents of the Stars air, but as the country music singers took the stage to do stand-up, the viewers didn’t tune in. The show was immediately canceled, according to CNN:

The first airing Wednesday had former “Star Trek” actor George Takei singing “On the Road Again.” Only 4.6 million people tuned in — and thousands tuned away as the hour continued.

I was surprised this was supposed to be a series and not just a one or two episode special. Who really cares about seeing stars do things they don’t normally do, unless they’re doing it terribly? And if they’re doing it terribly, even that only has so much appeal.

Dancing With the Stars is popular because the stars actually do get to be better and put in some great performances, along with a few people who really shouldn’t have signed up in the first place. Even Circus of the Stars showed people who worked very hard to manage to perform the acts that they do.

But a Star Trek actor singing? Been there. A singer tap-dancing? What’s the point? There have been double and triple threats for years.

Hopefully CBS learned a lesson here.

In the most recent years, the (official) availability of tv shows have grown on the internet. Well d’uh!

Recently, South Park Studios started offering every single on of the series episodes for free viewing. Hulu.com is still growing and could end up becoming the YouTube for tv shows and movies. Once again, free!

Unlike the original televised broadcasts, you can watch these at anytime,  with less advertisements, and unlike owning them on dvd or blu ray (yes, I support it and own a PS3), they are free. Notice how the word “free” keeps popping up.

I personally will watch the episodes on the net off their official rescources, and then, if I like the series, I purchase the season when it’s made available on DVD/BR. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer my hard copies over the digital ones.

But there are lots of people out there that if they can get it free on the net, officially or illegally, they will. And I’m sure not everybody goes out and buys the season dvds. That can be quite an expensive endeavor after a while, especially with long running series. I mean, why buy all the South Park dvds when you watch it free of their website?

Of course, I own every one of those dvds. But I’m sure the above could be a popular mentallity.

Little by little, networks will follow in South Park Studios footsteps and offer their entire collection for free. A lot of network websites offer newer episodes, but not whole series, nor older ones.

I’m personally not against this either. Why would I be? I have been saying for years that all television should be available on on-demand services.

People have busy schedules and often are prone to miss many shows they want to watch. Of course, there’s always TiVo, but not everybody is willing to buy that, and besides, most people have computers with internet capabilities, and with the availability of shows online, your favorite shows oculd be just a click away.

What affect will this have on television? Will the grwoing technology run it over? I doubt it. TV will most likely adapt with the changes, something I’m going to address in a future article.

As far as seasons on DVD go, I doubt they’ll be shorted out anytime soon. A lot of shows aren’t being offered on the net yet, like older shows, but eventually the medium will change and the internet will be a doorway for television viewing, if it isn’t already.

Bill Hendrickson’s middle wife, Chloë Sevigny has just been cast in a upcoming independent comedy, “Divorce Ranch”, with Zooey Deschanel. Variety has:

“Divorce Ranch” is set in Nevada just after WWII, when a quickie divorce could be granted after residency was established.

Sevigny will portray an actress who comes to the ranch with her 6-year-old son so she can then marry a wealthy man. Deschanel will play her assistant.

Even though Ginnifer is currently my favorite on “Big Love”, Sevigny was my first ‘love’. Her performance in season one is one of the reason I continued to watch. She is at home in ‘indie’ films, and this one should be no different.

With the delay in filming season 3 of Love, the actors have unexpected seen their schedules free up.

What is your opinion of Chloë? What do you think of her performance as Nicki? Who’s your favorite Henderson wife?