It looks like producers are having a difficult time filling the patriarch of the Mills family in the new 90210 Sequel. TVGuide has:

According to insiders, filling the role of Harry, pop to Brandon Dixon and Brenda Annie, and husband to Lori Loughlin’s Cindy Debbie has been harder to do than get into Donna Martin’s pants. But it didn’t become a real issue, per se, until this week, when the prospect of unveiling the cast (and the first publicity photo, see above) minus Dad became a real possibility.

“The producers don’t like anyone they read,” a source close to the project whispers. “They tested someone on Tuesday morning, hoping to pull the trigger in time for the upfront, but the actor couldn’t get approved.”

The current cast (pictured) includes Dustin Milligan, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Walter, Shenae Grimes, Tristan Wilds, Lori Loughlin, Ryan Eggold, Jessica Stroup and Michael Steger. Yes, it’s strange to have a cast photo without the father, but I wonder how important the father (or mother for that matter) is to this show. Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Walsh were a big part of the original, but only for a short time.

Who do you see filling James Eckhouse’s shoes? Do they need a big name? Or at least on par with Lori Loughlin? Can it be a nobody?

The latest incarnation of Spider-man is this season’s “The Spectacular Spider-Man” on The CW. This week, ‘Caprica Six’ lends her voice to Black Cat. TVGuide has:

Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer gets animated this Saturday in a guest role on The CW ‘toon The Spectacular Spider-Man (airing at 10 am/ET). In the episode “Persona,” Helfer provides the voice of the villainous vixen Black Cat, who Spider-Man must team-up with to stop Chameleon, a master thief who has been pinning his crimes on the web-slinger. In addition to crime-fighting, expect lots of flirtation between Black Cat and Spidey.

I really enjoy this Spider-Man. It hasn’t been a perfect replacement for Justice League for my son and I on Saturday mornings, but it’s good. It isn’t in continuity with anything specific but borrows from the movies, past cartoons, and most heavily from early comics.

Helfer has a distinct voice, and I think it’ll work well with the character of Black Cat. Anyone else watch “The Spectacular Spider-Man”? What you think of Helfer as Black Cat?

Kristin at EOnline got some time with Joss Whedon and discussed the upcoming “Dollhouse”.

And it wasn’t just actors, either: I spent a good while chatting with the one and only Joss Whedon (pinch me!), who told me they he just wrapped on the pilot shoot for Dollhouse Friday, and that he has a very good feeling about the series because “Eliza Dushku can play anything, and in this series, she does.” Can. Not. Wait. He also very kindly shared this info about the show:

* Joss directs the second episode as well as the finished-on-Friday pilot, just to get things rolling.
* Sarah Craft and Elizabeth Fain are the show runners.
* Steve DeKnight and Tim Minear are both consulting producers on the series.
* Tim is writing and directing the midseason two-parter, namely episodes seven and eight.
* Joss would love to get Jane Espenson to join the gang too, if he could, but she’s on Battlestar at the moment and the show’s budget might not permit it. (Is it just me or do you want to send Fox a check right about now?)
* As reported earlier this week, Dollhouse will go at midseason, and, according to Joss, it’s likely premiering in January.
* There is no Dollhouse presentation planned at the Fox event, but Eliza Dushku might appear on behalf of the show.
* Joss: “I’m still having so much fun. I keep waiting for it to not be fun anymore.”
* Joss needs your/our help promoting Dr. Horrible when it comes out, because the marketing group for that little online musical is…him. I’ll make the wheat paste for the posters, you print up the flyers, ‘kay?

Mostly good news from where I stand. I’m not happy about the “mid-season” premier, but anytime Joss is excited about a project, I am. As excited as I am, I admit that the premise of the show is sketchy. It is because of Whedon’s involvement that I’m excited. If anyone can take a strange, female-centric, premise and make it gold, Joss Whedon can.

Also, as the article says, get out the word for Doctor Horrible.

Last week on “Lost”, Locke revealed that Jacob wanted them to “move the island”. In a show that (according to producers) has basis in scientific theory, this may seem absurd. In an article in Popular Mechanics, physicist Dr. Michio Kaku explains the theoretically possible.

[Dr. Kaku] thinks that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are using the island’s unique properties­—namely its electromagnet and the Casimir Effect hinted at in the Orchid Station orientation video—to open a transversible wormhole to different points in time and space.

But how realistic is moving an entire island through time and space? According to Kaku, there are two ways it could be possible: Quantum teleportation, which would zap the island from one place to another; or through a wormhole, which could theoretically move the island to different points in either space or time. Quantum teleportation of photons and atoms already exists, says Kaku­—the record is 600 meters over the Danube River—but “to move an island would require technology centuries more advanced than what we have now.”

I’m glad that “Lost” is sticking with its promise to be scientifically explainable, even if it’s theoretical. Also, Dr. Kaku is brilliant and entertaining. I’ve read two of his books and can highly recommend them if you have an interested physics. I haven’t yet read his latest book, “Physics of the Impossible” in which he examines scientific basis for Science-Fiction, but I imagine it would have broader appeal.

Although I’m not as jazzed about “Lost” as I once was, I still find it enjoyable and interesting. I’m glad they haven’t gotten hung up on explaining mysteries and continue to make the characters themselves interesting, leaving the island mysteries as a backdrop to move the characters on their journey.

Is the ‘moving island’ too much fantasy for you? Or, have you accepted things like this as part of “Lost”.

CBS has announced it’s fall schedule and has made renewals and movements. From Variety:

Thankfully, bubble shows “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “How I Met Your Mother” were renewed. What is interesting is that Christine was moved to anchor position on Wednesday nights. For a show that almost didn’t get renewed (by CBS) it is curious that they’d move it to 8:00 on a new night.

I’m happy with what CBS renewed for next season, are you?

As in tradition of the Duking It Out, we pit two very similar shows against each other.

In right corner, we have Herman Munster and his goofball family of misfit Universal Monsters.

In the left corner, we have Gomez Addams and spooky family of…….well, spooks!

 I remember watching Nick At Nite, and if I remember right, they had an entire night, or possibly a week, dedicated to The Munsters and Addams Family, and which came first. Both shows aired right around the same time. In fact, they both started airing in September of 1964 and both ended sometime in 1966.

 Which came first? The Addams Family first aired on Sept. 18th. The Munsters started on the 24th, so the Addams Family beat it by a mere 6 days.

But The Munster actually got higher nelson ratings.

Both shows are quite similar, though they had their differences. The Addams were pretty much a creepy version of the Beveryly Hillbillies, as they were a rich and odd family. They pretty stayed at their mansion and had visitors from time to time.

The Munsters were a lower class family, and often left the house. So, you could probaly say that one of the major ideas behind The Munsters was the idea of a family of misunderstood monsters trying to function within a real life society.

The Munsters spawned a couple of really bad movies, with the the original cast, and, at least, two godawful made-for tv movies in the 90’s. While remaining a part of pop culture, The Munsters haven’t really left their rerun form.  Other than the movies and a sequel series in the late 80’s, nothing else has really come from The Munsters, not even a modernized feature film.

The Addams, on the other hand, have since re-appeared in two animated series, two feature films, one direct-to-video movie, and a few video games.

Unlike my previous two installments (Simpsons VS Family Guy, SNL VS MadTV), I actually like both shows just about the same. But I watched The Munsters a lot more. In fact, I was introduced to The Munsters when I was real little and didn’t get a chance to see The Addams Family until I was almost 10 years old.

So to me, who wins? The Munsters, just because it was a big part of my childhood.

But it doesn’t matter what I think. The winner is determined by you, the reader, so go ahead and drop a line in the comment section!

I’ve been hearing rumbling sthat Scrubs was going to ABC for, at least, over a month now. Zach Braff has finally “confirmed” it on his MySpace blog. AICN has the scoop!

I liked Scrubs a lot. It’s not a show that I watch in it’s original broadcast, but in syndicated form on Comedy Central. To be quite honest, it has been a year since I’ve been a able to watch an episode, but I really liked the show. If I could use one word to describe it, it would probably be “spunky.”

Looking for that Chuck fix? A little extra Geek Chic in your day. Well you can relive the entire series of Chuck with the release of the First Season set.

DVDActive says:

Each of the episodes will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks. Extras will include Declassified Scenes, 2 featurettes (Chuck’s World, Chuck on Chuck), a gag reel, a gallery of web originated mini-featurettes, and a playable demo of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 09 for Xbox 360.

I like that they acknowledge the geek fan base that is going to dig the 360 demo tie in bonus feature on this set.

Chuck was hands down my most enjoyed series last year. I was saddened to see the season cut so short because of the writer’s strike, but very happy to hear that they are continuing the show next season. I worried that it didn’t get much of a chance and they were going to ax it like so many of my favourite shows.

I have to say that Zachary Levi as Chuck is inspired. In real life he doesn’t come across as a geek at all but on the show he can’t help but trip over just how much of a geek he is. I can’t help but thinking that this guy is who I would want to hang out with. The Geek references are SO funny. And Yvonne Strahovski is more eyecandy than I could have ever hoped for on TV. She is my only TV Crush right now and such a wonderful character. She is strong and lethal and did I mention how hot she is? Then she shows her vulnerable side as they continually put her in that awkward dance of romance with Chuck.

The retail sales gags, the supporting cast and everything about it was just perfect. I just hope that the Reset they are talking about for Season 2 wont change too much of that and it just gets better!

Eli has awoken from his coma and gets his second season. The L.A. Times reports…

Greg Berlanti’s production company will keep its ABC trifecta on the air. The network has renewed “Eli Stone” for next season.

Berlanti also produces “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Brothers & Sisters” for ABC.

Whether or not this show has the legs for multiple seasons, it definitely deserves a second. “Eli Stone” was my second surprise of the season (”Pushing Daisies” was the first), and the more I watched the more I loved it. It took a good 3-4 episodes to reach its potential, but when it did it was amazing.

If you haven’t watch “Eli Stone”, or gave up on it early, I highly suggest catching up on season 1 ASAP.

When it was announced that this would be the last season of “Battlestar Galactica”, I had mixed feelings. Because of the nature of the show, I always felt a planned end was the best. On the other hand, I felt that the series hadn’t progressed far enough that it would be able to wrap up in 20 episodes. I believe that my fears have come true.

In an attempt to get to the end of the series, this season has made a number of fast-forward jumps in storyline. Gone is the great character and plot development that made the series great. Case in point was this weeks ‘mutiny’.

I felt that we hadn’t been given enough development in the story line to justify the behavior of Anders, Helo and Starbuck in that exchange. Not to mention the quick situation recovery from Anders shooting Gaeta. Leaps like these haven’t been made since the mini-series.

Around the same time, the producers of “Lost” announced the planned end of their series. Contrary to the BSG approach, the “Lost” team gave themselves plenty of time to finish telling the story. Sci-Fi and Ron Moore should have given themselves similar time. When you have a planned end in sight, your journey is more focused. But if you don’t give yourself enough time to get there, you end up not enjoying the ride as much.

I’m not enjoying this ride as much. You?

With the greenlight of the new 90210-spinoff and Jeenie Garth’s departure from the “My Best Friend’s Girl” pilot brings Kelly Taylor back to Beverly High. The Hollywood Reporter has:

“90210,” from CBS Par, centers on a three generational Beverly Hills family. Original cast member Jennie Garth has signed on to recur, reprising her role as Kelly Taylor from the original series who now will be a guiding counselor at her alma mater, West Beverly Hills High.

This is a good move by the producers as they need to bring the grown-up fans of the previous show to this new teen show. Not being recurring is good for her as it would most likely be a step back in her on-again, off-again career. I think they need to get at least one more former cast member for the premier to bring in the former 90210 fans. What do you think?

Hot off the wire - more Caprica casting news!

SciFi Wire announced the addition of Eric Stoltz as:

“Daniel Graystone, a wealthy computer engineer who, after an emotionally crippling family tragedy, uses his technological wizardry to forever change the future of Caprica.”

This news is beyond exciting for me! Stoltz has been one of my favourite actors since childhood, and he’s both a gifted and versatile actor, as displayed in both his film and television credits. He joins Esai Morales and Paula Malcomson in what’s shaping up to be a fantastic cast.

Big changes are in store for Season Four of Weeds. Warning! If you haven’t seen Season Three as of yet, this will contain spoilers.

At the conclusion of Season Three, the community of Majestic/Agrestic had gone up in flames, and Nancy Botwin had formed an alliance with drug kingpin Guillermo. Where will everyone go now that their “little boxes” have burned to the ground? Ren Mar, a fictional town on the border of California and Mexico. A recent New York Post article gave some insight into the move:

“The fictional community where the characters all lived - Agrestic - was destroyed by fire at the end of Season 3. Now Nancy Botwin is living close to the Mexican border to expand her pot business.”

Not only has the location changed, some characters will not be returning, including Conrad (Romany Malco) and Heylia (Tonye Patano). All of the other regulars will be back, as well as a new face, Albert Brooks, as the father of Nancy’s late first husband, Judah. Do you think these changes will help or hurt Weeds? Season Four makes its debut June 16th on Showtime.

Details have arose about Brea Grant’s character, The Speedster.My Way has story.

“Her character is supposed to be Hiro’s Joker,” said Masi Oka, who plays Hiro. “Batman has The Joker. Hiro has Daphne. This is the season where Hiro finally finds his arch nemesis, and it happens to be this Speedster. I kind of equate it more to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, except Daphne says more than ‘meep-meep.’”

So The Speedster is a villian? To me, this is music to my ears. When I first posted about Brea’s casting, I was under the impression that she was going to be yet another new protagonist just stumbling her way onto one of the storylines.

She’s still a Flash ripoff, but most of the characters from the show have stolen their abilities from comic books.

Also, a new season 3 promo has popped up on the net. It doesn’t show much-in fact, it doesn’t show us anything at all-but it does give us an idea of Season 3’s direction, but nothing more than what the title of this new season, “Villians”, has already told us. Nonetheless, I present the link  to you guys for your curious pleasure!

Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer) of “The Office” talks about her appearance last night on “The Tonight Show”, and her upcoming film “The Promotion” on her her official MySpace blog:

I’m not sure if you remember that movie “Quebec” I blogged about awhile back…it is now called “The Promotion” and it’s coming out in June. I LOVED making this movie. It stars Seann Williams Scott (so cute and so nice), John C. Reilly (I would like to make every movie with this man), Fred Armisen (love this guy) and Lili Taylor (I tried hard not to totally geek out when I met her). We shot the movie in Chicago and I seriously had the best time. I’ll post more about it with photos and such later. There is a movie trailer up now:

(see the trailer here)

It looks like a cute throw-away movie that you’ll love on DVD/Cable. Sean Williams Scott and Jenna Fischer appear that they have good chemistry. For Jenna’s sake, I hope it is good.

Is Jenna Fischer a good actress? Do you like her in other roles besides Pam Beesley? When will her big-screen break come?

Move over “Star Wars”, here comes the “Heroes” action figure line. Seat42F has all the pics.

Included in the first set of characters are: “Claire Bennet,” the heroine cheerleader with incredible recuperative powers; “Hiro Nakamura,” the office worker with the ability to bend time and space; “Peter Petrelli,” the most powerful of all the heroes with the ability to absorb the powers of others; “Mohinder Suresh,” a genetics professor from India who truly believes there are people with super powers living among us; and of course, “Sylar,” a manipulative and murderous villain. Mezco’s award-winning artists designed the seven inch scale action figures, which boast highly detailed features and extremely accurate accessories. Mezco will also provide an assortment of alternate heads and variant figures for the “Heroes” collectibles.

Calling them ‘action figures’ might be a stretch. The ‘action figure’ market is usually boys ages 6-12. I’d consider these collectible figurines ala the “Lost” and other McFarlane figures (the press release calls them “collectible figures”).

I was a huge [Star Wars] action figure collector (until I had 5 little mouths to feed), but I haven’t seen the draw of figures like these for television shows. Did anyone buy the “Lost” figures?

Chloe Sullivan is arguably the star of “Smallville”. Chloe has been involved in nearly every major plot line, and has ties to every single other major character. Not even Clark can say that. Now with the exit of Lex and Lana next season, “Smallville” can’t afford to loose Chloe. According to TVGuide’s Ausiello, Allison Mack and company know this too.

“Allison’s camp used Michael leaving as leverage in the negotiations with [Warner Bros.],” says one Smallville source, who adds that Kristin Kreuk’s decision to only return for a handful of episodes as Lana only strengthened Mack’s bargaining position. “They need Chloe now more than ever — and Allison’s people know it.” (Mack’s reps declined to comment for this story.)

“If Allison leaves, they’ve essentially got Lois and Clark left,” notes one insider. “And that show’s been done before.”

I’m a huge fan of Mack and Chloe alike. If it isn’t obvious, I consider her the anchor of the show, both the character and the actor. If they loose her, maybe Clark should think about moving out of “Smallville” and begin his quest to become Superman.

Just to throw it out there. Get Aquaman, Green Arrow and Flash back and start a real Justice League tv show. But, I don’t watch “Smallville” anymore, so what do you think? Can they stand the loss of Chloe? Should they scrap the cast (sans Clark) and start over?

The newest casting news to come out of Heroes is pretty intruiging. TV Guide’s Ausiello reports:

Bruce Boxleitner…has snagged a top-secret recurring role that was originally going to be modeled after Sen. John McCain. The character has since been reconceived, and now all I know for sure is that he’ll be sharing scenes with a female series regular.

This makes me excited about watching Heroes again. While I might make fun of Captain Sheridan often, I do really like Boxleitner and I’m going to enjoy seeing him on television again. Plus, after playing the president of the Interstellar Alliance, he’s got experience being a politician.

The sad thing is how quickly my mind start drawing parallels between Sheridan and John McCain…

Martha has been the most charismatic companion of the newest of Doctor Who’s companions. She also shined in her recent stint on “Torchwood”. News via Outpost Gallifrey gives:

BBC Drama Production today announced the key cast for Little Dorrit, Andrew Davies’ major adaptation of Dickens’ novel, which will be broadcast on BBC One this autumn (date to be announced). Freema Agyeman, best known to audiences as Martha Jones from Doctor Who and Torchwood, has been cast as Tattycoram, the foundling companion of the Meagles’ daughter Pet.

I’m not familiar with Dickens’ “Little Dorrit”, but am a fan of Agyeman. Also, Davies work on a long list of period pieces bodes well for this screenplay. I look forward to seeing this one.

(see the press release)

We loved the concept, but hated the execution. It appears so did Gary Scott Thompson, the new show runner. AintItCool has this quote:

“There was the original Knight Rider series which we all love, there was the 2-hour movie, and now there’s the new series. And they share in common a car named KITT, different car in some cases, and there’s going to be some people from the 2-hour movie who are carrying over to the new series. And we’re going to see some new faces too. That’s sort of what I told NBC when I came in. I said look, if you’re going to do the 2-hour again this isn’t for me and if you’re going to do that on a weekly basis I’m not your guy. I’m the guy who wrote The Fast and the Furious, I have a reputation, and that reputation’s going to be on this show so I need to make it cool.”

This is refreshing to hear. I’ve said before, the concept of revamping “Knight Rider” is a good one, they just failed to do that with the movie. What the movie ratings showed was that the concept worked…people tuned in to see a new K.I.T.T. Hopefully, Thompson can pull it off.