The two titans of fantasy will team up to bring the awe and wonder of both of their worlds to our television screen.

Variety just announced that Dreamworks TV will be producing King's latest 1,072 page tome, Under the Dome, for television. Earlier this week, we reported that the series would probably made for HBO, but the press release doesn't give a precise network, only that it will be a limited series and that it will be on cable. The two titans will be executive producers and will meet soon to hire writers and to get that side of the project in place before they shop the project to various cable networks.

Cross your fingers that it will be HBO! I don't think King just said that to be blow air. I think he wants it to be done right and that HBO is the only place for it.

King and Spielberg both have tried to get King's other work, "The Talisman" which King co-authored with Peter Straub, to be developed for the big screen. That project is on the back burner due to budget reasons, because you can't half-ass a Stephen King epic.

More on this as it develops!

Source: Variety

Tonight's episode of The Mentalist, "His Red Right Hand" saw the return of Patrick Jane's nemesis Red John and plenty of shocks for the audience.

"His Red Right Hand" begins sweetly enough, with Rigsby and Van Pelt sharing a moment cuddling in bed before they're both phoned separately by Lisbon. They arrive at a cemetary building, where a dead and frozen man has been found naked–his modesty preserved by a carefully arranged bouquet of yellow roses. While on the scene, Jane gets called by Bosco, who tells him to come see him as soon as he can.

The CBI returns to the department headquarters, joining Bosco's secretary Rebecca as she's bringing coffee to her boss. The coffee is soon spilled, as Rebecca discovers Bosco and two of his agents gunned down in his office. Stunned by the bloody crime scene, Jane stands immobile as Lisbon tries to revive Bosco, only spurred into action when Lisbon shouts at him to help. The building is locked down; Bosco is revived on scene by paramedics and taken away in an ambulance.

Lisbon sends Van Pelt and Rigsby to interview people in the building and check the security cameras. Jane still seems to be in shock, but then he tells Lisbon that Hicks is missing. The team investigates, and finds he's not at home and his car is gone. They interview Rebecca, who tells them Bosco's team was close to making arrests in a drug cartel case. Van Pelt is stunned when she and Rigsby discover there is missing security footage; that the cameras were disabled during the crime.

While Lisbon and her team investigate the cartel leads, Jane insists on pursuing their original frozen man case. The victim turns out to be a Dr. Towlan Morning, and Jane goes to the hospital where he works. Lisbon and Cho follow. On the way in, Jane becomes agitated when he sees a vase of yellow roses by the door. Approaching the doctor's office, Jane first sees the telltale Red John smiley face on the wall. He also finds Agent Hicks, dead on the desk.

CBI boss gives a press conference about the agent's deaths, and has a meltdown when asked to describe his "feelings". He says he's tired with the press and their horse's assery, and that they have no idea what the fine agents of the CBI go through each day. "I feel sad, you moron," he tells the reporter, before ending the conference. Lisbon commiserates with him after, assuring him that he told the truth.

Through further investigation, the team discovers that Bosco had a lead on one of Red John's mistakes–a missing victim named Carter Peaks. The body was found at a construction site, and Bosco hoped there would be DNA evidence to help them find Red John. Lisbon and Jane head down to the Cloverville morgue to collect the body and evidence, only to be told that an Agent Roho from their division already picked up the body. Asking the man on duty that night for a description of the agent, Jane realizes it's Rebecca–Bosco's secretary.

With her insider access, Rebecca was able to disable the cameras and get close enough to Bosco and his team to shoot them with a silencer gun (while announcing "Red John Says 'Hi.'" Lisbon and Van Pelt catch Rebecca in Bosco's hospital room, trying to finish the job, and Van Pelt nicely slams Rebecca face first into a wall. Lisbon is contemplating shooting the maniacally grinning Rebecca when Bosco wakes up to ask what's going on.

There's heavy police and S.W.A.T. protection as they bring Rebecca in to the CBI. They put her in a room with Jane. They sit in silence for awhile, then Jane asks one of his usual innocuous questions about music. Rebecca doesn't fall for it, telling him she knows all his tricks. Jane tells her she is nothing but a useful object to Red John, that he is not a good man. Rebecca counters that Red John is "on a mission of love and enlightenment. Without death, there is no life, without dark there is no light." She tells Jane he is a perfect example, that when his family was murdered, he finally saw the world for what it truly was.

Jane assures her that she will one day regret what she's done and open up to him. But he asks her to explain why Red John had her murder Bosco's team when he already had the body and the evidence. In a chilling moment, Rebecca tells him that Red John thought he would understand, that he killed the team so Jane could have the case back. "He wants you back. And it's what you wanted to, isn't it?" Jane's slight smile is hard to read, but then he becomes serious and ends the interview.

While she's being transferred, someone passes her in the hall and slaps a poisoned substance onto her hand. She dies instantly, removing the last link they had to Red John.

Back at the hospital, Bosco gets Lisbon to tell him the truth about his condition–he's lost too much blood and probably won't make it. He tells Lisbon he loves her–that it had to be said. She reciprocates, but it seems they both know he means it more intimately than he does. Bosco asks to talk to Jane, and tells him that he will catch Red John. And that when he does, he shouldn't arrest him, he should kill him. Jane replies "That's the plan." He then whispers something else which Jane leans down to hear, and he then he's gone.

Lisbon returns to the office, only to find that their boss Minelli has decided to retire. It's clear that the loss of four agents has been too much to bear. Lisbon is upset, but she understands, and hugs him goodbye. Back in the office with her team, they drink the last of Bosco's secret stash of tequila. While Rigsby quietly leads them in a verse of "Amazing Grace", which was played at Bosco's funeral, Jane slips away to immediately dig into the Red John case.

Read all the TVOvermind The Mentalist recaps.

Watch The Mentalist on CBS, Thursday nights at 10/9c.

PHOTO: Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, The Mentalist "His Red Right Hand" screencap, c2009 Primrose Hill Productions, Warner Bros. Television, CBS.

Audiences are going to hear a log more from "The Listener", which has been renewed  for another 13 episodes.   The Canadian drama, which premiered this year, has been picked up for a second season.

"The Listener" is a series about paramedic Toby Logan, a young man with the ability to "listen" to other peoples thoughts.  As he helped out victims he met on and off the job, he also tried to help himself by learning more about his unknown past and abilities.  Aided by his mentor Dr. Ray Mercer and friend and fellow paramedic Oz Bey, Toby's decision to get involved in these situations have drawn the unwanted attention of both the police (Charlie Marks) as well as a mysterious group which his mother saved him from when he was a child.

Despite being cancelled in the U.S. after only airing seven episodes, "The Listener" ran for its full season in Canada and was well received.  It also has a strong international following, especially in Europe, where it made its debut before airing in North America.  In what is becoming more common as television moves to the net, the Listener's award winning online site was hugely popular, giving fans a taste of what goes on in Toby's head.

Season two of "The Listener" will air in Canada on CTV and SPACE but no dates have been announced.

TNT announced today that Jason Lee will be taking on the starring role in a new TNT pilot called Delta Blues. The new series is described as an offbeat drama about Dwight Hendricks, a Memphis police office who lives with his mother and moonlights as an Elvis impersonator.

Jason Lee is returning to the small screen after his four season stint as Earl Hickey in the NBC comedy My Name Is Earl, which was just canceled this past fall.

“Jason Lee is the ideal choice to bring the compelling, off-kilter Dwight Hendricks to life,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM).  “With extraordinary talent in front of and behind the camera, along with an outstanding script, DELTA BLUES is shaping up to be a hugely entertaining show and a great fit with our lineup of original dramas.”

That talent that Michael Wright mentioned behind the camera includes Emmy nominee Clark Johnson (The Shield) and a script from Liz M. Garcia (Cold Case) and actor Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight).  Delta Blues will also be executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov under their Smokehouse Pictures banner.

There's no doubt that Delta Blues is shaping up to be a fantastic sounding addition to TNT's other original programming lineup.  No date has been set yet for the pilot to air, but it seems likely to be close to Summer 2010, when TNT has traditionally launched many of their original programs.

Source: TNT

TV stars always show up on People's Sexiest Men list and this year is no exception.  In the top 16 men listed on People's site, Gillies Marini (Brothers & Sisters) and John Cho (FlashForward and Star Trek) both make appearances.  Clarissa approves of both of these choices.

But who's the Sexiest Man Alive?  Why, it's Johnny Depp.  And not – as many people so furiously insisted yesterday – Robert Pattinson.  Sorry, Twilight fans, but your boy didn't get crowned, though he does appear on the list.  I was afraid they were going to give him the top spot – so, so afraid – but People magazine decided not to buy into the New Moon frenzy and crowned a man worthy of our affections.  Depp has been in the business for years.  He's a fantastic actor.  He's a sexy man.  He fits all of the criteria (and he was top of the list as well back in 2003).  Pattinson, for all of his pretty boy smiles and the hair – the hair! – has not earned the title yet.  I'm sure he will one day, but not yet.

Others in the top 16 include Robert Downey Jr. and Bradley Cooper (double-yum).  And the Glee boys!  I LOVE the Glee boys.  Matt Morrison has abs of steel and Cory Monteith and Mark Salling are just so cute.  I want them to sing me ballads all day long.  I haven't seen the entire issue, but over 100 sexy men are featured.  I'm going to be searching for some more of my favorites.

So who's pissed that Pattinson didn't take the top spot?  Who's happy Depp won?  Sound off in the comments below.

[Photo from Celebitchy]

Email: clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow: twitter.com/clarissa373

Um, have you seen The Vampire Diaries? If not, you will not have an excuse after December 18th. No excuse that I will tolerate, anyway…

The CW is blessing those who haven't gotten with the program that is The Vampire Diaries to join the ever increasing legion of fans by airing all ten episodes of the series during the week of December 14th-18th. So no America's Next Top Model, no 90210, no Supernatural. All The Vampire Diaries during the week.

God is good…

So, again, for those who want to join in on the fun, or record the series for a later watch date, or relive the horrific and jaw dropping moments all over again, this is the perfect opportunity!

Here is the episode count and air date during that week (tentative to change):

Monday, December 14th

8:00/7:00c – "Pilot"

9:00/8:00c – "The Night of the Comet"

Tuesday, December 15th

8:00/7:00c – "Friday Night Bites"

9:00/8:00c – "Family Ties"

Wednesday, December 16th

8:00/7:00c – "You're Undead To Me"

9:00/8:00c – "Lost Girls"

Thursday, December 17th

8:00/7:00c – "Haunted"

9:00/8:00c – "162 Candles"

Friday, December 18th

8:00/7:00c – "History Repeating"

9:00/8:00c – "The Turning Point"

So sharpen your stakes, pick your vervain plants, and get ready to enter Mystic Falls and the world of The Vampire Diaries. Hope to see you there…

Source: THR

Talk about the hugest spoiler in the history of film…(IMHO)

Right before the movie even opened for the public, news of a '2012' spin-off show had hit the web. The show is set to take place after the disaster of 2012, with humanity struggling to pick up the pieces and start anew, which means somebody survived the near impossible scenarios that are displayed in the trailers. The scenarios are so outrageous and bleak that I can't watch the trailer before bed. Yes, I am sad.

Whether or not any of the characters from the film will transport to television is yet to be known, but what we do know is that the show now has a home: FX Network.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show will begin airing on FX Network in the year 2012 along with the cable rights for the film. Cable seems to be the logical place for such a show. You can't have gritty, depressive struggles on network TV. Ask Southland.

So will you watch 2012? And if you have seen the movie yet, do you think that a show would work or fail? Sound off below!

Source: THR

The Gemini Awards, Canada's equivalent to the Emmys, were broadcast last night and the hit drama "Flashpoint", with its record-setting 19 nominations, walked away with three major wins: Best Dramatic Series, Best Direction and Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for Enrico Colantoni.   In the non-broadcast ceremonies, it scored another three awards for Best Achievement in Main Title Design, Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series (Henry Czerny) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series (Tatiana Maslany).

East Coast funny man Ron James, who has his new "The Ron James Show" airing on CBC in the old "Air Farce" slot, hosted the award show from Calgary, AB and kept the audience well entertained.  Among the presenters was Calgary native Cory Monteith, who is enjoying his role as Finn on the hit musical comedy Glee.

First year drama "Being Erica" scooped a Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for Erin Karpluk. 

Epic historical drama "The Tudors" did not score on any of its major category nominations but did receive 4 Geminis during the non-broadcast ceremonies that were held in October, including Best Photography in a Dramatic Series, Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Series, Best Production Design and Best Sound.

The comedy award nominations were surprising with "Corner Gas", which ended its six year run this year,  not even being nominated despite back to back wins in 2005, 2006 and 2007.   Winner "The Rick Mercer Report" took home the Best Comedy Series and the cancelled "Three Chords from Truth" the Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy. 

 Best Comedy Writing went to "Billable Hours" while Best Dramatic Writing went to the now defunct "Stargate: Atlantis."

The ground-breaking, mostly green screen, sci-fi drama Sanctuary won for Best Visual Effects but did not take home any awards for its three acting nominations.

In the reality corner, Dragon's Den won for Best Reality Program or Series.  In an odd turn, Dragon's Den is holding onto its popularity and ratings while the American Version "Shark Tank" is struggling.

The full list of Gemini nominees and winners can be found here.

If you heard a grown ass man screaming like a little bitch last night out of the blue, then I am sorry. That was me. And I blame The Vampire Diaries.

Let's get to the recap.

The Haunting of Bonnie Bennett (Part One)

Straight out of Nancy's first dream sequence at school in A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Vampire Diaries opens with Bonnie falling asleep in class and "waking" up to find a presence in the hallway. She leaves the class to investigate and runs into her ancestor Emily (guest star Bianca Lawson). Bonnie then trails Emily from the hallway into the yard in front of Old Fells Church. There Emily explains to Bonnie that this where everything started and where it needs to end. She then asks that Bonnie help her, but Bonnie refuses and tries to run and can't escape the presence of Emily, whose innocent request turns to a stern, creepy demand.

Bonnie wakes up in class, but finds Emily sitting beside her. This time Bonnie screams herself awake in her pajamas in front of the Old Fells Church.

Setting Up The Character Chess Board

At school, Caroline is still pissed at Bonnie about the whole necklace thing, but Elena decides to stay out of it, but is worried about Bonnie's whereabouts and why Stefan hasn't contacted her. Caroline bumps into Matt, who only tells her "hi" without breaking his stride. Caroline immediately feels dissed. At the Salvatores, Damon tries to make up for killing Lexi, but Stefan (and I) are not for it. They have a mini-truce and taunt each other by mimicking the other. Paul and Ian clearly couldn't wait to rag on each other and I applaud the actors for this humorous scene. The students get a new history teacher in Alaric Saltzman (guest star Matt Davis), who is young and WAAY more tolerable than that miserable bastard Mr. Tanner ever was. Bonnie enters class and looks beyond spooked. Elena notices and is concerned.Bonnie eventually tells Elena everything that has been happening to her and how scared she is. Despite Bonnie wanting to embrace her heritage, she wants it to stop. Elena finds Stefan, but he has news that he is leaving school and Elena immediately thinks that it's because of her. Stefan senses her anger and tells her to use it, because it will make the decision easier.

The Haunting of Bonnie Bennett (Part Two)

Damon confronts Bonnie about the necklace again, but she remains firm and doesn't hand it over. Damon then reveals that he knows she's a witch and that Emily is haunting her. Bonnie marvels that Damon knows about Emily, but he says that he is trying to protect her and to tell Emily that he will get the necklace one way or another.

Bonnie reveals all this to Elena, who demands that Bonnie stays with her tonight. But Bonnie Damn can enter your house as well, remember? Bonnie then suddenly stops the car their driving in, gets out and tosses the necklace into an abandoned field.

Elena calls Stefan and tells him about Bonnie and Damon. Elena give Stefan the full story on the necklace and Stefan makes sense of everything. Seems that Emily was Katherine's handmaid and that she gave the necklace to Katherine. Stefan says that it means something, but doesn't say what and declares to get the info out of Damon.

Later at Elena's, Caroline joins them and Elena gets Caroline to apologize in only the way Caroline can. But Bonnie tells Caroline that she tossed the necklace and an argument ensues. It's a minor one, that is until Caroline finds the necklace in Bonnie's backpack. THEN the big argument goes down. Caroline whines that Elena and Bonnie leave her out of everything when the latter two girls discuss Emily's persistence, which Bonnie says is because Caroline doesn't listen when people are talking to her. Caroline proves Bonnie's point by being not concerned when Bonnie reveals her secret. Moment later, the girls make up and Caroline tells her that she will support Bonnie's witchy lifestyle.

Something tells me that Caroline still doesn't get it.

But the girls decide to celebrate the mending of their friendship by having a seance… Hmm…

During the seance, Bonnie calls on Emily, who doesn't disappoint as the candles, wind and lights do the supernatural mambo. Bonnie panics and throws the necklace on the floor. But the lights go out for good as well as the candles and it's pitch dark. When the lights return, the necklace is gone. Everybody freaks, but Bonnie finds the necklace on Elena's bathroom floor. Then the doors slam shut and all Elena and Caroline can hear are Bonnie's screams as she tries to get out.

Then the doors finally let loose and Bonnie stands there with her hands over her face. She raises her head and (in a deadpan manner) says she's fine. But when you see Bonnie's reflection in the mirror, it's EMILY!!!!!! Caroline throws the deuces

Elena then realizes after Emily/Bonnie says that she has to go back to where it all begins, that Bonnie is now Emily/Bonnie, who  runs from the house at the revelation with a warning that she must stop Damon. Elena calls Stefan.

Damon's Diabolical Plan is an Unimaginable One

Stefan tries to throw the 'let's be brothers' charm on Damon can smell Stefan's crap from China if he was there. Damon wants to know what the hell Stefan has up his sleeve. Over game of power football, Stefan tells Damon that their love for Katherine isn't real since she compelled them to do a lot of things. Damon doesn't want to hear it, but this opens up the conversation to talk aboutDamon's plans with the necklace. Damon says that Emily gave the necklace to Katherine on their last night, and that he would know since he was the last person with Katherine. Stefan reveals that he was actually the last person to see Katherine alive. Damon reveals that he is going to bring Katherine back.

Um, NO!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?!

But a secret part of me wants this plan to go down…

Damon explains that he went to Emily for help to save Katherine and that Emily asked for Damon to protect her family's lineage in return. Emily used the necklace to put a protective shield over Katherine in a tomb below the church she was burned in. To access that power, Emily needs the celestial events of stars to do her magic, i.e. a comet. Damon also reveals that Emily did it to protect her family, because Mystic Falls didn't want to have anything to do with witches at the time either.

Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!

Stefan gets the call that Emily has possessed Bonnie and that Emily/Bonnie are headed to Old Fells Church to destroy the necklace. Damon ear-hussles this and leaves to catch up with Emily/Bonnie. When he catches up with her, Damon declares that they had a deal, but Emily/Bonnie throws Damon against a tree, impaling him.

The Haunting of Bonnie Bennett (Part 3)

When Stefan reaches Damon, he pulls him down and comes across Emily. She declares that the townspeople of Mystic Falls doesn't deserve the evil Damon plans on unleashing and that she can't let them loose unto the world. Let WHO loose?

Damon warns Emily to shut up, but Emily reveals that to save Katherine, she had to save ALL 27 vampires that were in the church with her as well.

*Blinks*

Elena shows up as Stefan tells Damon that he can't bring back those vamps unto Mystic Falls and Damon says that the town of Mystic Falls deserve EVERYTHING that is thrown at them, because of what happened 145 years ago. Damon also declares that Bonnie will be burned at the stake if the Mystic Falls Superfriends found out about her just as they will if Damon and Stefan are exposed. Emily declares things are different and starts the spell. She destroys the necklace and when everything is over, Bonnie is back.

But Damon doesn't give a damn as he CHARGES BONNIE AND BITES HER NECK!!!!!!!!!

This is where I screamed.

Bonnie's neck looks BAD and she's barely alive. Elena, beyond beyond pissed, cannot look at Damon without feeling disgust. Stefan gives Bonnie some of his blood for her to drink. Bonnie's wound begins to heal quickly.

Later, Damon declares to Stefan that Katherine never compelled him and that his love for her was real. He tells Stefan that he will leave town now. Yeah right…

Bonnie wants to know what the hell is going on and Elena promises to tell her everything later, but has to speak with Stefan first. After finding out that Bonnie can't turn vamp if she is alive, Elena tells Stefan that he has to tell Bonnie the full story. Stefan agrees and then Elena is on her "I want to be with you" tip this week and asks Stefan to stay with her. But Stefan has made up his mind and says he has to go before other people get hurt. Then he turns and walks away, leaving Elena's heart in shambles.

During the closing moments, Elena cries to Bonnie as she spills everything, or what I perceive to be everything since the editors decided to mute the conversation while music played. The scene looks damn good, but I wish I could have heard that conversation.

A Match Made In Mystic Falls?

The low denominator plot of this week is between Matt and Caroline, who is smitten about Matt's "hi's" and wants to know why he is being a typical "guy". Matt tells her that he has always said hit to her and that she is being a typical girl for thinking deep into something. Hmmm. Got a point there, Matt.

Later, after that experiencing more supernatural events, Caroline is about to chill when Matt comes through her window. He tells her that he never liked her like that, but that he enjoyed cuddling with her, because he gets where she is coming from in the lonely department. The two decide to make a night of it pigging out on junk food and giggling. Hmmm…. Wonder where this will head?

Meeting Mr. Alaric Saltzman

While Plot A rocked this week, Plot B was just as slap happy fantastic.

Mr. Saltzman calls Jeremy into the classroom and reveals that Tanner had a "jackass" folder for students he didn't care about. That's a damn shame. Didn't anyone tell Tanner that karma is a fickle bitch?

But Mr. Saltzman wants to give Jeremy a clean slate and to help Jeremy with his struggling grades. He gives Jeremy a history paper assignment to start the ball rolling. The two shake on it and they make it painfully obvious for us to focus on Mr. Saltzman's ring, which looks ANCIENT! Jeremy asks about the ring and Saltzman only says that it is a family heirloom.

Later at the Mystic Grill, Jenna spots Mr. Saltzman and is immediately intrigued. Jeremy thought that Jenna was still pissed about Logan's "disappearance", but Jenna declares that she is over that nonsense. She then reveals that for Jeremy's history paper, he could use all of his father's history books on Mystic Falls that date back pre-Mayflower.

Mr. Saltzman walks up and then Jenna and Saltzmen get their flirt on, much to Jeremy's 'displeasure'. After Jeremy leaves, Jenna and Saltzman continues their flirt-a-thon and they reveal their pasts and past relationships. While we know about Jenna's past with Logan, Saltzman reveals that his wife was murdered and that it is still considered a cold case. Take notes, people. But Saltzman loves the town of Mystic Falls for their rich history. Really, now?

Hours later while Jeremy finds his father's things, Jenna comes home with Saltzman. Only thing is that Saltzman seemingly CANNOT ENTER THE HOUSE! But Jenna doesn't invite him in, because of Jeremy being there. Saltzman is cool with it and leaves. WTF?!!?!

Jeremy finds a picture of Logan and Jenna, who takes it and leaves the room, while Jeremy finds an ancestor's journal dating 1864.

Moments later, Jenna tears up the photo of her and Logan and trashes it when there is a knock at the door.

It is Logan…asking to be invited in.

SMACK! And I am on the floor clutching my jaw.

Are you all out there feeling abused by the love of your lives that is The Vampire Diaries?!??!?! Please let's discuss this in group below!

The big news tonight on The Mentalist episode "Red Bulls" is that Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Agent Sam Bosco (Terry Kinney) work together on a case. The episode begins with a tense scene involving Bosco's team, busting into an abandoned house they believe houses a kidnap victim and her captors. Guns drawn, they rush into a crowded room–populated by Agent Teresa Lisbon's (Robin Tunney) CBI team, including Jane. After a tense moment of adrenaline and demanding to know what the other is doing there, Jane finally gets them all to lower their guns.

Turns out Lisbon and her team were asked to investigate a report of a dead body in the abandoned house. The body turns out to be a young man who had been kidnapped years earlier. CBI boss Minelli (Gregory Itzin) agrees with Jane that the coincidences are too great between the two kidnap cases, and orders the two teams to work together. Bosco is, of course, furious at having to work with Jane and the hostility extends through both divisions.

Bosco, Jane, and Lisbon visit the family of the kidnap victim, Mia Westlake (Marissa Skell). The only relative is Mia's sister Verona (Meredith Monroe) and her husband. The Westlake sisters have a considerable fortune they inherited from a wealthy grandfather. Verona is the self-professed screw-up, and isn't sure how to handle the kidnapping. While Lisbon and Bosco ask the usual questions, and try to find a connection between Mia and the first kidnap victim, Jane observes the couple and their lawyer. He also finds their baby crawling behind the furniture, and the nanny is hastily called in to retrieve her.

Jane is his typical blunt and straightforward self, and warns Mia against drugging herself into oblivion during the crisis–because she'll regret being absent later. While Bosco is ordering Lisbon to get Jane out of his sight, Mia's husband Duncan orders Bosco to throw Jane off the case. Bosco apparently hates being told what to do more than he hates Jane, and tells Duncan the CBI will do whatever they need to, with Jane. Mia then calls Duncan off, saying Jane was right about what he had said. With a smile, Lisbon leaves Jane and Bosco together to work on another lead.

Since the proof of life video showed a man's hand with a recognizable Mexican gang tattoo, Bosco takes Jane over to meet with some of the gang members and interview them. Jane is nervous at first, until he realizes one of the gang members is an undercover agent that Bosco knows. Jane is not surprised when they find no link between the gang and the kidnapping, and gives Bosco a hard time for pursuing an empty lead just to show Jane what "real" cops do.

Meanwhile, Rigsby (Owain Yeoman), Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti), and Bosco's man Hicks (Dominic Hoffman) follow up on a gang of drug dealers who've taken up kidnapping to make faster cash. Van Pelt warns Rigsby to wear a Kevlar vest, but he refuses because Hicks isn't wearing one. Van Pelt is frustrated with all the macho posturing, which continues as they move through an apartment building, questioning the inhabitants. While Hicks and Rigsby are bickering, Van Pelt reopens an apartment door to give a potential witness her business card, and ends up with several rounds pumped into her chest.

Saved by the vest, Van Pelt urges Rigsby to go after the shooter. He and Hicks hunt the girl down through a maze of buildings, and Rigsby eventually shoots and kills her just as she's about to shoot down Hicks. There's new respect between the two officers, but Lisbon argues with Bosco about taking responsibility for the animosity that nearly got Van Pelt killed.

While the team is distracted, Rigsby sneaks into the ambulance to check on Van Pelt, and he tells her he loves her. Van Pelt thanks him sweetly, then smacks him for not wearing a vest. Her way of saying she loves him is apparently letting him know she doesn't want his ego getting him killed.

The specific amount of the ransom for Mia Westlake makes Lisbon and Jane think there might be someone on the inside who knows the status of their bank account. Their suspicion gains credibility when they discover that the woman who shot Van Pelt was the first kidnap victim's girlfriend.

As the time for the ransom payoff looms, Lisbon and Jane try to convince Bosco to use one of Jane's unorthodox ideas. It's clear from the previous kidnapping that Mia will be killed the moment they get their money. When Bosco refuses, Jane appeals to Verona, telling her that someone close to her is in on the kidnapping. He points out Verona's lawyer, and Verona immediately attacks her, creating a commotion.

Jane retreats to another room with Lisbon and Bosco, who actually was in on the plan. They watch the hidden video of the room containing the ransom money, waiting to see who turns up to check it out. The nanny suddenly appears, taking the transmitter out of the suitcase and then disappearing upstairs. The agents follow her, and overhear her making a phone call to her partners, letting them know the money's on its way. The agents arrest her, and use her phone to trace the call back to its source. Mia is rescued, and reunited with her sister Verona.

Afterwards, Lisbon and Bosco share a drink and mend fences over their earlier arguments. Bosco tells Lisbon he's enjoyed working with her again, and they share a few meaningful glances. Later on, Bosco approaches Jane and concedes that he was wrong–that though Jane isn't an officer and never will be, he offers a valuable perspective. He then gives Jane the file on Red John, and asks for that perspective. He expects grateful thanks, but instead he gets a pointed request from Jane for the whole file. It's clear these two don't fully trust each other just yet.

Read all of the TVOvermind The Mentalist recaps.

Watch The Mentalist on CBS Thursday nights at 10/9c.

PHOTO: Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, with Terry Kinney as Agent Sam Bosco, The Mentalist "Red Bulls" screencaps, c2009 Primrose Hill Productions, Warner Bros. Television, CBS.

Tonight was So You Think You Can Dance's first live results show for Season 6.

We got to see the top 16 perform a group dance and then it was down to the nitty-gritty of who had the most votes and who had the least.  From the very beginning, the judges were in a cantankerous mood.  They made no effort at all to hide the fact that they believed that America had gotten it wrong.  America had not voted for the best dancers, but for the dancers they liked the best.  Adam Shankman thankfully reminded everyone that this competition is about find America's favorite dancer, not America's best dancer.

In the end, Pauline and Peter were sent home.  Neither choice surprises me, but I do wish I could say more on the subject.  I wish I could compare their dance to the others performed, but it seems that DirecTV hates me.  Anytime there's even the slightest hint of rain, or cloudy weather, or the faintest of breezes, my reception goes to crap.  The audio cuts in and out, the video skips around or pauses and generally makes watching anything unbearable or impossible.  So because we were having a bit of rain Wednesday night, my DVR could only manage to record about half the dances.

Now!  For your reading pleasure, a recreation of Mollee and Nathan's salsa, as we experienced it:

Cat's standing in the audience, looking at the camera.  "Everyone, give it up for Mollee and Nathan!"  The camera swoops over her shoulder.  The music, "Quimbara" by Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco, begins.  Mollee and Nathan fall out of their dynamic poses and begin . . . the image freezes, stutters, cuts to black, and then returns with Mollee and Nathan out of breath and the crowd cheering for what the wife and I could only assume was the shortest and/or fastest salsa of all time.  The wife and I look at each, both with clenched teeth as we flashback through all the different TV moments we've missed out on, culminating in the missing final fifteen minutes of Battlestar Galactica. "Call EPB.  I want fiber optics," is all she says.  "I'm tired of missing our shows."

Anyway!  Sorry to Pauline and Peter, consider other cable providers, and good luck to the remaining 14!  I hope Mollee and Nathan prove the judges wrong next week because I want them stick around for as long as possible!

Today, TV Guide Online announced a DVR service that will allow you to collect all your favorite shows in one spot. Instead of buying a show off iTunes here and watching another show on Hulu.com for free, you can watch almost just about anything in the same setting and even catch up on old shows that have either ended a long time ago or last season. Current shows include Gossip Girl, Dollhouse, Grey's Anatomy, and nip/tuck to name a few. Old shows available are Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Original Series, Buck Rogers, Knight Rider (both incarnations), CHiPs, Charlie's Angels and many more.

Is there a catch? Of course there is…

Some (most) of the shows are available only for purchase from Amazon's Unbox Video on Demand Service. Only the current shows that recently aired have a free playback, while episodes from a few weeks back have to be purchased. When I clicked on Babylon 5 to catch up on a show that friends still won't talk to me about because I have never seen it straight through, I was met with a fee of $1.99 if I wanted to view the content. Hmm…

So I leave with this one question…

Why bother?

Source: TV Guide Online

Erica and Father Jack are still on the rooftop trying to process what happened (see last week's recap).  Father Jack thinks that they are the only ones who got away but Erica believes there are others.  They watch a shuttle launch from the Mothership and arrive nearby.  Father Jack wants to call the cops on his cell phone but Erica says they should do it anonymously.  She calls 911 from a payphone to report a slaughter.  The 911 operator keeps her on the phone for a couple minutes to get the details… only it's not 911 – the call was intercepted by a V.  It sends another flying spike-ball (called a "Seeker") after them.  Erica and Jack get away.  Meanwhile, the Vs clean-up the warehouse and remove all bodies and evidence.  Father Jack still thinks they should go for help but Erica insists they can't because they don't know who to trust.  Dale had been her partner for 7 years and she never suspected.  She tells Jack to go home and forget everything he saw.  And not to trust anyone.

Erica gets home near dawn.  Tyler isn't there.  She freaks.  When he comes home, she is so relieved to see him that she doesn't ground him for coming in 8 hours late.  She asks him to promise to stay away from the Vs, and he does.  Then he goes up to his room and pulls out his new uniform jacket.

Father Travis and Father Jack discuss the Vs proposal for diplomatic relations.  "Establishing relations is a good thing, we're supposed to say," the senior priest reminds Father Jack.  Also, the cops are looking for him in relation to the guy who died in the church the day before. 

Erica gets a call from her boss, Paul Kendrick, who is looking for Dale.  "Have you seen him?"  "Not since yesterday," Erica the obfuscator honestly replies. 

Ryan and Valerie cuddle in bed.  She asks him if she can take a look at his arm.  He says it isn't necessary.  When he removes the bandage, we see that the gash is pretty big and that a lot of his lizard skin is visible.

Chad reviews his interview with Anna.  He feels like he sold out but PA Haley tells him he did well.  He doesn't think so.

Anna and Marcus confer on the ship.  He is concerned because India hasn't offered diplomatic relations yet.  She tells him that once the U.S. does it, the rest of the world will fall in line.  Right now, she is concerned about Japan.  She scolds Marcus for not realizing that appearing submissive to humans is the easiest way to dominate them.

Erica arrives at work.  She moves through the office like she is walking through a mine field; everyone is now suspect as she looks at them with new eyes.  Paul tells her that Dale never made it home and that his wife is in the office looking for answers.  He ushers her into a room where a bunch of agents are waiting to talk to her.  They ask her all the usual suspect questions: when's the last time she saw him? was he acting strangely? were they having an affair?  Erica eventually acts defensive (I'd rather be out looking for my friend and partner of 7 years than standing around talking about him) and Paul comes in with the news that they've found Dale's car.

Meanwhile, FBI Agent Sarika Malik from the V Threat Assessment Joint Task Force shows up at the church to question Father Jack about the dead guy.  It seems that Dead Guy had an FBI file due to the large number of reports he filed about alien activity on earth prior to the Vs arrival.  He lies and says that Dead Guy didn't talk about the Vs.  He just seemed scared and then he died.

Erica and Paul arrive outside the warehouse.  She says she recognizes the address from a terrorist cell tip she and Dale got.  She searches his car and covertly reclaims her badge and gun which she left there before she slipped into the resistance meeting.  When Paul comes up behind her and asks if she found anything, she hands him Dale's phone, which she found in the seat.

Broadcast:  Anna thanks Japan and Mexico for their agreement to offer diplomatic relations and she hopes that Russia and the U.S. with follow their leads.

Chad watches the broadcast.  He gets the numbers from his interview.  Half the viewers are still undecided about the Vs.  He gets an idea on how to regain some of his integrity without screwing his deal with Anna.  He tells Haley that the next time, Anna will come to him.

Still lovey-dovey, Valerie tells Ryan that one of her counselling patients cancelled. Does he want to have lunch?  He'd love to but he has a meeting in Jersey.  Rain check.

Tyler and Brandon arrive at the Visitors Centre.  Lisa greets them with a smile and says she'll get Brandon to the front of the line to become a Peace Ambassador.

Father Jack ruminates.  Father Travis asks him what is wrong and Father Jack admits that he didn't tell Agent Malik that Dead Guy actually was ranting about the Vs.  He's feeling guilty.  Father Travis tells him that sensitive talks are going on now and that he should not upset the apple cart.

Erica and Paul investigate the warehouse.  There are no bodies, no blood pools, no signs at all of the slaughter that happened only hours ago.  He asks why she didn't tell him about the lead.  She reminds him that every time they got a lead on the terrorist cell, it fell through.  She didn't know who the mole was.  Perhaps Dale came to the warehouse to check it out by himself.  She gets more defensive as he continues to question her.

Marcus wants to know if the sole human they captured at the warehouse is part of the resistance that the Vs quelled several years ago.  The human is in some sort of medical half-shell.  He is hallucinating that he is covered in snakes.  He screams that he didn't know anyone else at the meeting.  Marcus doesn't recognize anyone from the Seeker tapes because they have really, really bad playback and only seem to record in infrared.  So the Vs have no more information on the resistance.

Don't say you didn't see this coming. It was only a matter of time before the crossover was made. It's not surprising. In fact, you should be wondering why it took so long. That's right — we're getting a Twitter TV show.

Before you start gasping in horror and gnashing your teeth, let me assure you — it's not nearly as bad as it sounds. In fact, it actually sounds like a pretty funny concept, if it can be done right. In fact, it could potentially be the Golden Girls of the 2010's.

What? A Twitter show about geriatrics? You heard me right, folks.

The Twitter channel "S***My Dad Says" (you can fill in the asterisks) has been running since August. Maintained by Justin Halperin, the channel keeps track of the profane maxims spouted out by Justin's seventy-three-year-old father, Sam (speaking of maxims, the younger Halperin is a writer for Maxim magazine). Sam's cynical, sardonic humor has attracted over 733,000 followers, and it's also attracted CBS.

The Twitter feed is being looked at to be turned into a comedy series. It's already attracted some big names; David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (the writers of Will & Grace) are already planning to produce the series, which will be written by Halperin and Patrick Schumacker, according to ABC News.

While I think this is a fine idea, I find it a little difficult to understand just how exactly the series will work, especially since Halperin's outburts are usually humorously profane. "Nobody is that important. They eat, shit, and screw, just like you. Maybe not shit like you, you got those stomach problems," one Carlin-esque jibe goes. Or how about, "A scar ain't 13 god damned stitches. I'll introduce you to men with REAL scars, then we'll all laugh at your fucking 13 stitches together." That's not exactly network television material.

However, I'm sure that a happy medium could be reached with TV-14 level profanity. The only question that remains is — will the series be as riotous as the Twitter feed? Maybe not. But it should still be pretty funny.

Sniff, sniff, sniff…

Another show has bitten the dust for the 2009-2010 TV season.

According to HitFix.com, "Eastwick" has been canceled effective immediately. ABC opted not to pick up the back nine for the show, which has been finishing last in its Wednesday night time slot, something that I didn't know anything about. According to TV by the Numbers, despite "Eastwick" being called the "least watched show on ABC" or "a ratings failure", it still beat NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" for a consecutive three weeks as of last week by a 23% margin. That should've been something to look at before canceling it right, ABC?

But alas, it wasn't. On the other front, ABC picked up five more scripts for the Jerry Bruckheimer drama, The forgotten, which I had forgot was even still on TV. ABC still plans on airing all 13 episodes of Eastwick before pulling the plug, but by them pulling this weeks ep (for the CMA's) and next week's ep (for a Janet Jackson interview) from the schedule, we will be lucky to see that day happen.

So Eastwick fans, what do you think? Are you about to bawl like a baby like me? Or send a hex to ABC? Please just do the former…

Sources: HitFix.com, EW's Michael Ausiello, TV By The Numbers

EW's Michael Ausiello has broke that Pam Grier, fresh off her six year stint as Kit Porter on Showtime's The L Word (one of my guilty, guilty, GUILTY pleasures), will step into the world of Smallville as DC Comic's ruthless villain with a badge, Agent Amanda Waller. Grier's stint will be for multiple episodes and will start with a two-parter called "Legends", which is a befitting title and introduction since the Waller character was introduced in the 1986 six issue DC crossover comic also entitled, Legends.

I remember Waller as a pain in the neck to the Justice League Unlimited on the Cartoon Network, because she always trumped whatever the heroes were trying to do if it was on an epic scale. I also remember her being integral to the creation of Bruce Wayne's "spawn" in Batman Beyond, which was so confusing that I won't drag you through that craziness at the this time.

I haven't seen Smallville since Season Three, but this makes me want to take a peek. It's Pam Grier! Anyone has a primer? Casey?

Here are pics of Agent Waller:

Source: EW's Michael Ausiello

Does anyone out there watch The Librarian series with Noah Wylie on TNT?  They're my guilty little pleasure.

The first Librarian TV movie appeared in 2004 and was called "Quest for the Spear".  The second was in 2006 and was called "Return to King Solomon's Mine" and the final one (or so we thought) aired in 2008 and was called "Curse of the Judas Chalice".  My favorite was the second one, but I always like sitting down to watch the others whenever they air.

The series stars Wyle as Flynn Carsen, a pretty square guy who's hired by the Metropolitan Library as a librarian.  He soon learns that the library is actually in the habit of collecting and preserving historical and magical artifacts, including Excalibur and Pandora's Box (sort of like a more kid-friendly Indiana Jones).  Some other big names star, including Olympia Dukakis as Flynn's mother, and Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart as Library employees.  In each movie Flynn is tasked with retrieving an artifact, including the Spear of Destiny.

While most of us thought that the series was over with the third TV movie, producer Dean Devlin has recently announced that a forth Librarian movie will be released in theaters.  No word yet on the date, but since shooting will be occurring this year, chances are it'll be released sometime in 2010.

Randy Dancik appears to be another man who is lying to his wife about being on a business trip when he is really getting down to business with his mistress but it turns out he is a good guy who is surprising his wife for their anniversary.  He gets the card written and the roses arranged and the candles lit but keeps getting distracted by lights in the hall going on and off and the television losing reception.  Finally he catches a glimpse of shadow, a glimpse that terrifies him.

Soon-to-be-very-surprised Natalie arrives home and spots all the prep work.  She's impressed.  She goes into the living room and sees Randy sitting on a chair.  When he doesn't respond to her compliments, she touches his arm.  And he crumbles into a pile of ash.

Broyles is sitting alone in a fancy restaurant when he notices a boy at the next table mimicking his every move.   He plays peek-a-boo with a file and the boy does the same with his menu.  When the boy is hiding, Broyles gets a call.  By the time the boy looks up again, Broyles pulls a Keyser Soze vanishing act.

Walter, Peter and Olivia are on scene.  Walter observes that Randy reminds him of a Christmas log because they burn so hot and so fast that they retain their shapes.  Then he mentions genitals again.  (Question – an obsession for Walter that will actually end up being a plot point or a cheap way to sex up a show where everyone keeps his/her clothes on?)  They discuss spontaneous combustion as a source of the fire and dismiss the idea right away because none of the chair was burned.  Walter informs them that he's going to need several vacuum cleaners to get the body back to the lab.    I was surprised that no one suggested using hairspray or something to try to solidify the pieces that remained but then I remembered that CSI was on a different station at this time.

Broyles arrives and his first question is a weird one.  Had the man been in a hospital in the last 24 hours?  Olivia doesn't know but she can find out. 

Broyles has seen this before.  Four years ago, five people died in a similar fashion.  The Eastern European killer called Broyles and gave him a formula; if he could solve the formula, the killings would stop.  Broyles, the FBI, and the CDC couldn't solve them.  There were two more victims and then the killings stopped.  Until now.

At Latchmere General Hospital, the Shadow (who is the Shadow?  Only the Shadow knows… right now)  slips past a nurse and goes down the hall.  Broyles and Olivia ask the administrator for a list of Eastern European employees.

The BBC have started to show the trailer for Doctor Who : The Waters of Mars, which will be airing on BBC One on Sunday November 15th at 7pm GMT. The episode is the second of the four 2009 specials, and focuses on the Doctor visiting the Bowie Base One, Mars in 2059. A place in time whose destiny is already written.

The episode will air in the United States on BBC America December 19th at 9pm ET/PT. It will air on SPACE in Canada at a yet to be announced time.

Take a look at the trailer. The episode is shaping up to be one of the scarier entries in modern Who.

No sneak peeks, but we have a promo for the November 12th episode of Bones.  Booth steps into the ring, but things don't turn out as planned. You can also check out the promo photos we posted last week.

BRENNAN AND BOOTH INVESTIGATE THE DEATH OF A LITTLE PERSON ON “BONES” THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, ON FOX

Stephen Fry Guest-Stars

Booth, still suffering some lingering effects from his brain surgery, has to get re-certified for FBI marksmanship, but is not the accurate shot he was before going under the knife. Meanwhile, the team at the Jeffersonian investigates the remains of a little person discovered in a sinkhole. The victim, Bryce DaFonte, also known as “The Iron Leprechaun,” competed in a popular wrestling league, but the popularity of the franchise left him with many enemies, including bitter competitors and scorned lovers, any of whom could have caused his downfall in the “Dwarf in the Dirt“ episode of BONES airing Thursday, Nov. 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/ PT) on FOX. (BON-507) (TV-14 D)

Cast: Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan; David Boreanaz as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth; TJ Thyne as Dr. Jack Hodgins; Michaela Conlin as Angela Montenegro; Tamara Taylor as Dr. Camille “Cam” Saroyan; John Francis Daley as Dr. Lance Sweets

Guest Cast: Stephen Fry as Dr. Gordon Wyatt; Ryan Cartwright as Vincent Nigel-Murray; Dan Castellaneta as Officer Novarro; Debbie Lee Carrington as Gidget Jones; Everette Wallin as Carson; Jeremiah W. Birkett as George Alano; David Norona as Derek DaFonte; Wynn Everett as Nicole DaFonte; Martin Klebba as Todd Moore

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

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Tonight on The Mentalist, "Black Gold and Red Blood", Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) once again defies people's expectations. After Agent Bosco (Terry Kinney) discovers the bug that Jane planted in his office, he has Jane arrested. As usual, Jane isn't remorseful in the least bit and doesn't seem to be all that fearful about jail time. Turning down Bosco's deal to quit the CBI, Jane heads off to the penitentiary. Not considering himself a cop, Jane refuses protective custody and gets put in with the general population.

Once we get a look at Jane's murderer roommate, if we weren't already thinking it, we get the idea Jane may have made a serious error. After all, Jane is very pretty and not at all violent, which is not the best combination in prison. Though Jane makes friends with his cellmate with a little psychotherapy, he realizes he may have been a bit naive when his cellmate informs him everyone knows he's a cop.

Of course, though Jane is pretty and non-violent, we forgot that he's also a little crazy. With absolute fearlessness, Jane confronts the other prisoners head-on where he both confuses and seduces them with his usual "psychic" charm. It's not long before he's playing cards with the top dog, and offering him hypnosis to get rid of his drug problem.

Meanwhile, back at the CBI headquarters, Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Cho (Tim Kang) try to appeal to Bosco to let Jane go. When that fails, they join Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) in urging Lisbon (Robin Tunney) to use her influence over Bosco. Lisbon denies having any sway over Bosco, despite her team's assurances that he's in love with her.

The CBI's case in "Black Gold and Red Blood" involves two feuding families, both with claims on a patch of land that can be drilled for millions worth of oil. The Hines family, a modern day Romeo and Juliet joining of the two families, reside on the disputed property. When the husband turns up dead from a gunshot wound, the CBI are called in to investigate.

Jane is at the crime scene, and meets all the players before his arrest. The team interviews the victim's wife Donna Hines (Erin Cahill), her father Dooley Gerber (William Russ) and step-mother Sandrine (Ashley Jones). After the victims' father pulls a knife on the Gerber family at the crime scene, they pull him in for questioning. A "freedom" fantatic, he tells Cho about the oil and blames the Gerber family and the corrupt government for his son's death.

While Lisbon is hoping Jane is learning a lesson from his stint in jail, Jane is simply up to his old tricks. Cho brings him a file on the case, including the victim's journal that contains numbers and names, and an entry of "Vultures!" After an idle vulture factoid from his new inmate pal gets him thinking, Jane calls Cho and asks if he can interview Donna Hines' brother. When Cho declines, Jane takes a different tactic. He phones Roddy Gerber (Eric Laden) ahead of Rigsby's visit, riling him up so he'll punch Rigsby when he arrives. Rigsby arrests him, so he ends up in the same ward as Jane.

Jane discovers from Roddy that his hunch was correct. Hines had discovered endangered species turkey vultures on the property–which would have meant it was protected land and couldn't be drilled. Roddy beat Hines up to get the location of the birds, so he could kill them, but he claims no involvement in Hines' death.

Jane then asks Lisbon to visit him so they can be in the visiting room when Roddy's father visits. Questioning Dooley, Jane is surprised to find that he seems innocent of the crime as well. Lisbon is frustrated that Jane is still up to his usual antics and doesn't seem to have learned a thing in prison.

What she doesn't know is he's about to go even further. Determined to break the case himself, Jane feigns illness and takes advantage of a guard's fear of mice to escape prison. He heads over to the Hines' farm and confronts the family, after phoning Bosco to let him know where he is. He shocks Donna and her father with the revelation that her husband was having an affair with Dooley's wife Sandrine–evidenced by her glitter makeup turning up on both men. Hines wanted to break off the affair and confess it all to his wife. Sandrine demanded he keep quiet, and when he refused, she shot and killed him.

The police arrive just in time to arrest both Jane and Sandrine, who can't believe she was frightened into a confession by a wanted man. Back at CBI, Bosco tells Lisbon that Jane's sentence will now be even longer. Outraged by Bosco's stubborness, Lisbon insists he drop the charges. Her influence over him seems to be blackmail, however, for whatever happened when they worked together 8 years ago. Bosco is stunned that Lisbon would risk both their careers on Jane, and he relents.

Back at headquarters, Jane thanks Lisbon for getting him out. He guesses that she had something on him, perhaps because he killed a criminal and she kept quiet about it. Lisbon denies it, but looks very uncomfortable. Jane seems almost as surprised as Bosco that she cashed that chip in for him. Lisbon hopes that her sacrifice might make him temper his behavior in the future, but Jane just laughs it off with his trademark grin. But we know he realizes what a big moment this is, what she's done for him. We also didn't miss his throaway line about how lovable Lisbon is, and she didn't miss it either.

Read all the TVOvermind The Mentalist Recaps.

Watch The Mentalist on CBS, Thursday nights at 10/9c.

PHOTO: Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, The Mentalist "Black Gold and Red Blood" screencaps, c2009 Primrose Hill Productions, Warner Bros. Television, CBS.

Anyone out there read The Onion, the satire news website?  Sometimes it's kind of ridiculous, but most of the time it's snicker-worthy and really funny.  Like today's headline: New York Marathon Winner Tests Positive For Performance-Enhancing Horse.  Check out the photo.  Hee.

Comedy Central is partnering with The Onion to create a 30 minute scripted comedy show focusing on Onion sports coverage.

The as-yet-untitled series will be based on the Onion Sports Network online video series and take on teams, fans, sports products and sports coverage. The series will be geared toward sports lovers and long-time followers of the Onion.

"We are thrilled to be in business with a cultural icon like the Onion to give our audience the sports show they deserve," said Comedy Central programming president Lauren Corrao. "The short-form content on the OSN Web series is outstanding, hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from the gang. We're really excited to take this great idea and turn it into a regular, weekly series."

The project will be executive produced by Onion News Network's Julie Smith and Will Graham.

Source: THR

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

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More good news for the sci-fi geek in all of us! Even before the theatrical premiere of 2012 comes news that a television series based on the movie is in the works. Roland Emmerich, the producer/director of 2012, has disclosed that the small-screen version will take place in 2013 and center around the the "resetting" of Earth:

“The plan is that it is 2013 and it’s about what happens after the disaster,” Emmerich told EW while walking the red carpet for the 2012 premiere Tuesday. “It is about the resettling of Earth. That is very, very fascinating. (2012 writer/producer) Harald Kloser and I came up with the idea and we have the luxury of having a producer on the film who is a big TV producer, Mark Gordon. We said to Mark, ‘Why don’t you do a TV show that picks up where the movie leaves off and call it 2013?’ I think it will focus on a group of people who survived but not on the boats … maybe they were on a piece of land that was spared or one that became an island in the process of the crust moving. There are so many possibilities of what they could do and I’d be excited to watch it.”

Here's some more good news. According to Emmerich, ABC has expressed an interest in the series as another possible replacement for LOST after it completes it's six year run (*moment of silence*).

With FlashForward doing very well in the ratings department for ABC and this week's highly successful premiere of V doing equally well, can we expect to see a wholly night of science fiction on the network in the near future?

Does anyone else out there think that such a block of viewer-specific programming could rescue the rerun-heavy graveyard now known as Saturday night?

God has Satan. Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader.

TV Viewers have the Parent Television Council.

Various news outlets are reporting that the PTC has called for The CW to pull the upcoming Gossip Girl episode, "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?", which depicts a threesome between some of the show's characters. The website, TheWrap.com, obtained the letter that PTC Chief Timothy Winter wrote which clearly talks down to any station that airs the episode. Winter declares hellfire and brimstone on whoever airs the episode saying that the FCC will get involved and that it is not only the TV affiliates right, but their "obligation" to preempt programing that "doesn't meet local community standards." Here is a link to the letter in full if you so must read it.

Another thing to note: Winter has not even seen the episode. He only read about it in Entertainment Weekly and other press releases. So basically he is causing panic about something he hasn't even seen ever and wants to take away the public's right of turning the channel from free-thinking people, because of his own personal beliefs. This, people, is an example of the dangers of censorship and the PTC should be reprimanded for such an atrocious act of trying to throw fear into the affiliates of they decide to go against the PTC wishes.

I never hate many things, but PTC is up there on that short list. When will we realize that America is a free country and that people are free to watch what they want? But even more, when will we be able to decipher freedom of speech from harmful censorship?

What do you guys think?

Source: TheWrap.com, Zap2it.com, E! Online

About three things I was absolutely certain.   First, a boy like Edward would never be my soulmate.  Second, if he was, there would be a part of me – which I assume would be wildly out of my control – that would want him dead.  And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably and impenetrably wish that someone would do a parody of Twilight.

And lo and behold, the Harvard Lampoon has.  How fortuitous!  Here's the official description of Nightlight: A Parody from Random House:

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls.

After witnessing a number of strange events – Edwart leaves his tater tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball! – Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.

In all honesty, I found Nightlight to be more of a parody of the themes of Twilight than a page-by-page re-write: the self-awareness of Bella, the helpless Swan parents, the unrelenting clumsiness, the rushed love affair, the sparkles….it's all there.  The ending will throw you for a bit of a loop, so I won't surprise that for you, but needless to say, they incorporate aspects of some of the sequels and the movie.

It's not laugh-out-loud funny on every page, but that's OK, because I was snickering a lot.  Honestly, if you're not a huge fan of Twilight (and this will demonstrate that I'm not), then you'll never be able to read the actual saga again without the craziness of Nightlight running through your head.  You'll start to question everything.  Like WHY does Bella have to fall down all the time?  Why did she fall in love with Edward so fast initially based on his looks alone (ouch, the fans are going to get me for that one) and how did Bella's father ever manage to feed himself before she came to live with him?  These are important questions, people!  The Harvard Lampoon offers no answers…..merely hilarity.

I get the impression that the Lampoon is in on the joke.  They're not only making fun of the original books, but also of their own parody.  Which is good.  Everything is exaggerated to the utmost degree.  Just like the way I like my parodies to be.

Want to read the entire first chapter of the book online?  Check it out over at EW.

"You don't have to go, Belle," said Bill. "Sure, my street-hockey team is going on tour, but only around the neighborhood. There's plenty of space in the car for you, your mom and me to live."

*snicker*

[Image and excerpt belong to Random House]

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow me at twitter.com/clarissa373

Lies were revealed and more deception was dealt on this week's installment of 90210 with one storyline hopefully dead and another interesting one starting up. It's sweeps and things are about to crazy as hell. I will be your tour guide through this tumultuous ride through teen angst for the duration of sweeps and your psychiatrist when it is all over.

Don't Mess With Debbie Wilson!

Dixon is overwhelmed with Sasha's pregnancy, but Sasha has went into "Martha Stewart" mode and just want to have dinner and a movie with Dixon. But Dixon wants to talk about the pregnancy and the options they can take with it. Sasha doesn't want to hear it and asserts that she is keeping the baby no matter what Dixon has to say. Dixon returns home and lies about being late for surf team practice, which Harry calls Dixon out on because the coach told Harry that Dixon was off the team. When the parentals demand what's Dixon been up to, Dixon gets frantic, needy IMs from Sasha and during the chaos he snaps and blabs out everything.

Debbie is highly upset and can't believe that Dixon could be so careless and Dixon declares that Harry had a kid when he was in high school. Oh like that is supposed to make it ok? :Smack!:

Dixon gets another IM from Sasha, which says that she is having cramps. Debbie tells Dixon to grab his coat, because they are going over there. When they arrive, Sasha is shocked to see Debbie and stumbles over her words profusely, especially when Debbie asks her if she seen a doctor. Debbie asks her how far is she in the pregnancy and Sasha says a month and that she got the sonogram done and everything.

Excuse me, what?!

Debbie notices what I notice, but she is thrown out the house after Sasha gets pissed about being interrogated. But Debbie is no dummy and uses one of the things that I love about women: a woman's intuition. The next day, Debbie remembers seeing Sasha at the salon way back and thinks that Sasha is lying about the pregnancy. In fact, she feels in her gut that she is right. Harry plays dummy once again and thinks that Debbie is overreacting. Idiot.

Debbie takes matters into her own hands and a page out of Sasha's own book as she follows Sasha to a coffee shop, where Sasha is having a cup of Joe. Debbie busts Sasha on lying about meeting her at the nail salon and tells her that its not a good idea to drink coffee while your pregnant. Debbie then asks Sasha if she went to the doctor. Sasha declares she did and when she tells Debbie the doctor's name, Debbie reveals that she is friends with that same doctor and will make sure that the doctor takes good care of Sasha. But Sasha is steadily growing uncomfortable, and Debbie eases her anxiety by asking how did she feel when she heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Sasha says it was a wonderful experience.

HA!!! Gotcha, Sasha! Because a baby's heartbeat isn't heard until week six! Debbie tells Sasha that this also means that A) she's not pregnant and B) stay the hell away from her son. Debbie kicks ass!

Later, Debbie and Harry find Dixon crying, because Sasha called to tell him that she miscarried and doesn't want to see himagain. Harry is about to drop the bomb on him about Sasha's lies, but Debbie covers and tells Dixon that things happen for a reason and that he can learn from this experience. After they leave Dixon, Harry wants to know why Debbie lied about Sasha to Dixon and she declares that it would be better this way and that she should just trust her in this. Harry is not so sure about this and neither am I about how this storyline ended.

While giving Debbie some delicious meat to chew on this week, are we to believe that 1) Dixon wouldn't have ran over to see about Sasha despite her not wanting to see him again and 2) that Sasha could be that damn stupid in the end?

Come on now, 90210 writers!

Jen's A Bitch, Ryan Matthews is An Idiot, and the Liams Who Deal With Them

Jen bursts into Ryan Matthews' house, totally oblivious to Ryan's date, who is sitting on the couch. Jen acts like she made a mistake, but Jen didn't take kindly to seeing that girl there, who was in fact the female bartender who tended to Harry and Ryan Matthews a few weeks back. Jen appears at the same bar the next day to tell the girl that Ryan is only talking to her out of pity and that she need not get her hopes up.

Bitch.

When Ryan Matthews confronts Jen about this she admits that she is jealous seeing Ryan with other women, like he is when Jen is dating "trust fund after trust fund". She agrees to be his one and only and the two kiss. Gag me.

Meanwhile, Ivy still pines over Liam, who dubs her one of the guys and Ivy decides to step her game up and start dressing like a girl more. She invites everyone to a Hollywood party, but Liam rejects, saying it's not his style. Liam gets info from Ryan Matthews that his essay got an honorable mention in a city wide contest, something that Liam should be proud in. Ivy and Teddy 'kidnap' Liam into going to the party.

At the party, Jen introduces Ryan Matthews to the pop group N.E.R.D. (guest starring as themselves) as her boyfriend. He beams. I scream. Later, Ryan 'introduces' Liam to Jen as his favorite student. Jen immediately smears Liam's name to Ryan as she doesn't want him to have anything to do with Liam, but she goes to Liam for him to keep his mouth shut about everything. Liam only chuckles that he knows that Jen is scared of him, because if she wasn't then she wouldn't be in his face now. Jen goes as far as telling Ryan Matthews that Liam came on to her at a previous function. Ryan Matthews is livid and I can't believe that he is that stupid. Ryan Matthews later gets on his trusty high horse and confronts Liam, who doesn't care anymore and leaves the party.

While all that went down, Teddy gives Ivy the 411 on the situation between Naomi and Liam after Liam leaves when he sees Naomi with Jaime (guest star Travis van Horn) and tells Ivy that she needs to make a move if she wants in on some Liam action. Should I just start calling Teddy "The Eye" from now on? Because he sees everything! Ivy takes his advice and follows Liam back to his workshed and plants one on him. Liam says upfront that he doesn't want anything serious and Ivy accepts that and they go back to suffocating each other by their mouths.

Adrianna's Dilemma

Adrianna tries to win back Navid by serenading to him at school. First, I hope that was actually Adrianna's voice, because it sounded beautiful. Secondly, she should have tried something more to Navid's taste, because he firmly says that he doesn't want to have anything to do with her and he means it.

Was it the guitar?

Adrianna is a mess and will not leave her room. Naomi and Silver try to get her to come out of her funk, but she is no good and the two friends fear that Adrianna might start using again. They go to Navid for help, but he coldly says that Adrianna is no longer his problem. The girls reveal their concerns and Navid relents. He stops by Adrianna's house to only says that if she feels like using again that she needs to go to a meeting. When Adrianna asks for Navid to come with her, he says no and that she has friends for that and leaves Adrianna a crumpled mess. SO basically, Navid came to instill more harm than good.

Silver receives a message from Adrianna stating that she is coming to the party. Navid arrives and comes across Teddy, whoapologizes for everything. Navid accepts the apology. Then Navid is coaxed by Liam and Samantha Ronson (guest starring as herself) to hit on some girls. He does just that. Teddy meanwhile flirts with Silver and it is clear that he likes her. But Adrianna arrives to see Navid macking to some nice females, clearly trying to move on and her best friend talking to Teddy. It's too much for her and she leaves without letting anyone know she was there.

Never Let Me Down Again…

Jasper is still on his "You're My Muse, Babe" deal with Annie, who gullibly slurps it up. That is until Navid reveals that he has credible intel that Jasper is a drug dealer. Annie blows off Navid's claims, but later can't help but to notice Jasper's big wad of cash that he carries around on him. She then blurts out the question and Jasper frakking loses it! He tells Annie that he never questioned her when everyone thought she was slut and can't believe she would question him. Jasper declares their relationship over and leaves Annie in downtown LA alone.

That is when I would have caught a bus back home and called it a day. But Annie either can't decipher 'crazy' or is just plain stupid.

Jasper goes to the Hollywood sign to shoot more footage and Annie is there like a whore crying to her pimp about her money not being right. Jasper accepts Annie's apology and demands that she never doubts him again. Annie agrees. Later, Jasper gets a text and he tells Annie that he will be right back and that he has to get some equipment from his car. When he gets there, Jasper pulls out some pills revealing that he is in fact a drug dealer, but the real shocker is who he is selling the pills to.

Adrianna.

Checkpoints

- I really hated how the Dixon/Sasha storyline ended. It was too abrupt and too unbelievable that Sasha could be that conniving. But Kudos to Lori Loughlin for what they gave her this week and now hopefully Debbie can slap some sense into Annie as well.

- Navid, Adrianna screwed up. I get that, but you of all people know how fragile that girl is and shouldn't be treating her as if she was Naomi. I don't like the cocky Navid at all.

- Annie needs her ass beat. Period.

- Jen needs a blowtorch to the face. And throw one on Ryan Matthews face as well for good measure.

That is all! What do you guys think?

It was a morning like any other in New York this morning.

FBI Agent Erica Evans woke up to her alarm only to find that her 17-year-old son Tyler Evans had snuck out of the house with his friend Brandon to go to a party in SoHo.

Father Jack Landry opened up the church doors to find regular, Roy, waiting at the top of the steps in his wheelchair. (Okay, just going by the commercials, I bet five bucks that Roy is one of the people the Visitors heal.)

Ryan Nichols made a special early-morning stop at a jeweler's to pick up an engagement ring for his almost- fiancee, psychologist Valerie Holt.  The jeweler threw in some proposal advice as a freebie – going down on one knee to propose is a classic.

Reporter Chad Decker has his rebroadcast of the country's economic shambles playing as he takes his shower.

They have a little time.  Erica prepares to go pick Ty up from a clinic where he is getting patched up after getting into a fight at a house party.  Father Jack brings Roy into the church.  Valerie waits anxiously at home for Ryan to return.  Chad pitches another news idea to a production assistant but is rebuffed again; they like his ideas but the big bosses keep passing the stories onto other reporters.  And then IT happens.

If it were L.A., people would have just assumed it was a quake and moved on.  But this is New York so it must be Godzilla (boy, is that close).  Valerie stops trying to hold up her bookcases and gets out of the way before they come crashing down onto the desk where she was working.  Father Jack races to shove Roy's wheelchair out of the way before he gets squished by a falling plaster Jesus.  Ty huddles under a gurney and loses cell phone contact with his mother, who races out the door.  And Ryan is on his way home when he sees a fighter plane crash into the middle of a downtown street and the pilot land not too far from the wreckage.

And then they see IT.  A spacecraft, huge, round, hovering over the city.  Erica sneaks past some army/national guardsmen (how did they get on site so fast?) and finds Ty in the middle of a crowd that has been barricaded outside in the middle of the street.  The underside begins to tilt and whirl until it forms the biggest plasma television EVER!  A woman's face appears and she says, "Don't be frightened."  Her name is Anna and she gives her spiel.  They want our water and an Earth mineral (hey, I've heard that before) and in return they will provide us with technology.  They then return us to our regular scheduled programming.  People in the street start applauding.

The Vatican says that the Visitors are God's creatures too, and Father Jack has trouble with that.  Father Jack's boss (not the Big Guy, just a more senior priest, Father Travis) tells him to hold the party line, not that it's going to make a difference because their congregation pretty much consists of 2 drug addicts and Roy.  They come around the corner and see a full house.

Erica has her partner Dale Maddox on the phone while Ty and Brandon watch the endless broadcasts.  They are entranced by the visitor's cleavage arrival.   Erica noted that all terrorist activity dropped off at the Visitor's arrival; all except the one cell they've been tracking.  They were chattering about C4.

When Anna and her entourage arrive for their first meeting, some reporters get in her face about the scientific likelihood of two species ending up looking the same.  Chad jumps to her defense and as a reward, gets to ask a question.  He goes with "Are there any ugly visitors?', giving Anna a chance to flirt back.  She decides that she wants Chad to be the Visitors' spokesman. 

Today Jodie Sweetin (formerly the middle daughter, Stephanie, on Full House) released her autobiography, unSweetined, detailing her early acting years and her subsequent drug and alcohol addiction.  Only 27 years old, Jodie has lived through a lot of hard times.

Once Danny Tanner's bubbly daughter on America's favorite family sitcom, Jodie Sweetin takes readers behind the scenes of Full House and shares her terrifying — and uplifting — real-life story of addiction and recovery.

Jodie Sweetin grew up in front of America, melting our hearts and making us laugh for eight years as the cherub-faced middle child on Full House. Her ups and downs seemed not so different from our own, but more than a decade after the popular television show ended, the star we knew as goody-two-shoes Stephanie Tanner publicly revealed her shocking recovery from methamphetamine addiction. Even then, Jodie still kept a painful secret — one that could not be solved in thirty minutes with a hug, a stern talking-to, or a bowl of ice cream around the family table. The harrowing battle she swore she had won was really just beginning.

In her deeply personal, utterly raw, and ultimately inspiring memoir, Jodie comes clean about the double life she led — the crippling identity crisis that began at her birth, the hidden anguish of juggling a regular childhood with her Hollywood life, and the vicious cycle of abuse and recovery that led to a relapse even as she wrote this book. Jodie traveled the country speaking to college kids about her triumph over substance abuse, yet she partied nightly, spending tens of thousands of dollars on her habit. Her addiction tore her family apart and alienated her from her former Full House cast mates until becoming a mother gave her the determination and the courage to get sober.

Today, Jodie's life is a work in progress. Resilient, charming, and funny, she writes candidly about taking each day at a time. Hers is not a story of success or defeat, but of facing your demons, finding yourself, and telling the whole truth — unSweetined.

If you're looking for a tell-all about Full House, you'll need to look elsewhere.  Jodie details how she landed the role of Stephanie Tanner when she was very young, as well as the experience of filming the pilot episode.  She also spends a few chapters briefly discussing her relationships with the other cast members and how most of them remained friends over the year.  Unlike with some other shows, the actors from Full House were obviously very close and a pseudo-family.  At least 2/3 of the book, however, is devoted to what happened to Jodie after the show ended and her drug and alcohol addiction.

I think that Jodie accurately describes some of the reasons why so many young stars eventually turn to drugs and alcohol, particularly those who are "one-hit wonders" (though I do hope that she can continue to develop her career).  It must be difficult to play a role through most of your formative years and then struggle to develop your identity when the cameras stop rolling.  In Jodie's case, her family history and too much money (at least until she blew through a lot of it) obviously contributed as well.  I gathered that her parents did their very best to nurture and help her throughout her career and into adulthood, so I don't necessarily believe that they are contributing factors to her addiction like so many other absentee or "yes" parents (see: Lindsey Lohan).

There are a few interesting revelations in the book.  One I won't spoil for you, and we all know that she continued to abuse drugs and alcohol while giving sobriety speeches because it's been plastered all over the news.  The thing that (hilariously) caught my eye was that Alanis Morissette wrote "You Oughta Know" about Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey on Full House).  That totally blew my mind and was a piece of trivia I didn't know.  I'll never look at Dave the same way again.

The book is a very easy read and I got through it quickly.  But something kept nagging at me while I was reading it.  I got the impression that Jodie was strangely detached from her tales of drug use and the horrible experiences that she so obviously went through.  She repeatedly writes about sobbing through confessions of her relapses and her feelings of disappointment and inadequacy.  But for all of the tears that she must have shed, there's still a strange sense of detachment.  I can't really explain my feeling accurately.

I am in no way insinuating that Jodie did not go through hell or that she disregards her past drug use as non-serious, I'm merely stating my own opinion that it seems like she was detached from her own past.  Perhaps this is a coping mechanism, or perhaps she simply didn't want to write a "poor little rich girl" book.  When she writes about her daughter (and includes a letter to her daughter at the end of the book) you feel more emotion in those words.

It's obvious that Jodie loves her daughter, Zoie, and that she was the catalyst for Jodie's sobriety (although Jodie does admit that she did relapse with alcohol after her daughter's birth).  Whatever happens, I still remember that little girl from Full House and hope that Jodie can get her life on track and keep it that way.  Overall, this book is the story of an insecure former child star who got very side-tracked for a very long time.  It might sound formulaic, but it's not.  It's a sad story, but ultimately an uplifting one.  Having never had an addiction I cannot imagine how much of a struggle Jodie's life must have been.  I hope, going forward, that it will be less so.

[Image belongs to Simon Spotlight Entertainment]

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow me at twitter.com/clarissa373

ABC has announced a new showrunner for their highly promoted alien epic V, which premieres tonight and will air four episodes during November before going on a very long break.  The new showrunner will be Scott Rosenbaum who is currently the executive producer on NBC's Chuck (Warner Bros TV produces both Chuck and V) and he'll be taking the helm of the series from current showrunner Scott Peters when production begins again in January 2010.

According to the studio, Scott Peters (the showrunner for the first 4 episodes) will be remaining as an executive producer on the show and fellow producer Jeffrey Bell is expected to leave, making room for Rosenbaum.  ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson spoke more about the Rosenbaum hiring saying, "We had a great pilot, then a couple of great episodes, but we had a disconnect on where we were going from there. I hadn't had the experience of that before." McPherson went on to say he takes "a little blame for rushing them" due to the need to move the series premiere up to November from its originally slated 2010 debut.

This changing of the guards, so to speak, certainly brings to mind the recent production shut down that had rumors swirling that ABC was unhappy with the series and what it's future might be.  Scott Wolf, who plays television journalist Chad Decker on V, recently said in an interview with Hilary Rothing of UGO that, "..from the outset the intent was to program this show, broadcast this show in a unique way."  In light of the show changes and specifically what McPherson says about disagreeing on the direction of the show certainly makes you wonder if there was more to the production shut down than meets the eye.  Regardless, though, V is back on course and under Scott Rosenbaum's guidance when production resumes.  We just have to wait until March to see just what that direction is exactly.

The Visitors arrive on ABC tonight when V premieres at 8/7 central.

Source: Zap2It

If you're a fan of Joss Whedon or Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, then chances are you've known that a sequel would be coming for some time now.  Joss confirmed that himself and the rest of the creative team were working on a sequel back in August and now Nathan Fillion has let slip to MTV News that the process is continuing to come along, and there's even a title.

"There are plans.  The media for the sequel has not yet been decided, but there is a title." Naturally Fillion wasn't about to reveal that title, but he did also confirm that along with the writing of the script, at least a song or two had also been written.

"Joss, I was talking to him right before we won the Emmy," said Fillion. "He said that he's finished writing a song or two. He told me a couple of verses to the song."

There's still no timeframe for when fans might get to see Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris take on the roles of Captain Hammer and his arch-nemesis Dr. Horrible for the second time, and the lack or a decision on the media outlet for the project certainly doesn't help.  Whedon has said in the past that he wasn't certain if the multi-episode miniseries format was the best choice for online audiences, or if another venue, including a movie, was a better way to go.  In August, he again mentioned that a venue hadn't been decided on, and Fillion also specifically mentioned that the media hasn't yet been decided. So while I'm all for getting it written and ready to go, let's decide on a venue already!!  Seriously, I can't wait for this sequel and it won't matter if its in the form of a movie, multi-episode miniseries format online, a direct to DVD, or even from some strange Russian site that ends up infecting my computer while I watch the show.  As long as I get to see it, I'm happy! Bring on Dr. Horrible the sequel!!

Seems that Sayid is about to leave one weird island for another one even more weird and dangerous. The island in question?

New York City.

According to TVGuide.com, Naveen Andrews, everyone's favorite Iraqi soldier and Island badass Sayid on LOST, will freshen up for a guest spot on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.We have no clue on if Andrew's SVU character will be victim or perp, but what we do know is that filming will be commence next week sometime.

Um, Mark, that can't be right because LOST is still filming and Mr. Andrews has to be there for that…

As we all know, many of the LOST cast members have flexible schedules (and lives) that don't revolve around LOST's shooting schedule. So Andrews might have gotten time to do something on the side right quick before resuming filming with LOST.

At least I hope…

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit airs Wednesday nights @ 9/8c on NBC.

Source: TV Guide.com

BREAKING: V Star Scott Wolf Addresses Production Delays

For those of you who don't know, the company that currently owns the rights to the entire Terminator franchise (Halcyon) is experiencing some (serious) financial difficulties and is auctioning off the franchise rights in an attempt to secure some cash.

According to Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood Daily, a lot of studios (led by Sony) are interested in bidding in the auction, despite the fact that the recent Terminator Salvation didn't do as well as some would have hoped (I liked it….but even I admit it could have been better – easy fix: more Worthington, since he was arguably the best part of the entire movie).

As a follow-up to her post, Ms. Finke posted an open letter penned by Joss Whedon to the owners of the franchise rights.  Joss Whedon is like a god….only much, much funnier.  I want to hear his take on absolutely everything.

Here's the best part: he freaking calls out Christian Bale's Batman voice.  I love me some Bale, but the man needs to stop messing with his vocal cords, particularly in non-Batman movies.  Joss Whedon just upped his awesome factor for pointing out what the rest of us have been saying for a few years.

An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners. From a Very Important Hollywood Mogul

Dear Sirs/Ma'ams,

I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where 'hood' was capitalized 'cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales. I have heard through the 'grapevine' that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid RIGHT NOW to wrap this dealio up. This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.

No, you didn't miscount. That's four — FOUR! — zeroes after that one. That's to show you I mean business. And I mean show business. Nikki Finke says the Terminator concept is played. Well, here's what I have to say to Nikki Finke: you are a fine journalist and please don't ever notice me. The Terminator story is as formative and important in our culture — and my pretend play — as any I can think of. It's far from over. And before you Terminator-Owners (I have trouble remembering names) rush to cash that sweet cheque, let me give you a taste of what I could do with that franchise:

1) Terminator… of the Rings! Yeah, what if he time-travelled TOO far… back to when there was dragons and wizards? (I think it was the Dark Ages.) Hasta La Vista, Boramir! Cool, huh? "Now you gonna be Gandalf the Red!" RRRRIP! But then he totally helps, because he's a cyborg and he doesn't give a s#&% about the ring — it has no power over him! And he can carry it AND Frodo AND Sam AND f@%& up some orcs while he's doing it. This stuff just comes to me. I mean it. (I will also offer $10,000 for the Lord of the Rings franchise).

2) More Glau. Hey. There's a reason they're called "Summer" movies.

3) Can you say… musical? Well don't. Even I know that's an awful idea.

4) Christian Bale's John Connor will get a throat lozenge. This will also help his Batwork (ten grand for that franchise too, btw.)

5) More porn. John Connor never told Kyle Reese this, but his main objective in going to the past was to get some. What if there's a lot of future-babies that have to be made? Cue wah-wah pedal guitar — and dollar signs!

6) The movies will stop getting less cool.

Okay. There's more — this brain don't quit! (though it has occasionally been fired) — but I think you get my drift. I really believe the Terminator franchise has only begun to plumb the depths of questioning the human condition during awesome stunts, and I'd like to shepherd it through the next phase. The money is there, but more importantly, the heart is there. But more importantly, money. Think about it. End this bloody bidding war before it begins, and put the Terminator in the hands of someone who watched the first one more than any other movie in college, including "Song of Norway" (no current franchise offer).

Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

I'll chip in $10 to add to Whedon's $10,000, because I believe Terminator….of the Rings could possibly be the best movie in the history of movies.  In fact, the Academy should just give it 15 Oscars, including Best Picture, right now.  No point in even waiting until it gets made.  James Cameron must be kicking himself for not thinking of it earlier.

P.S. My friend Cindy respectfully disagrees with Mr. Whedon.  She says, and I quote: "Imagine 'Terminator: The Musical' with the Batman voice.  Genius!"

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow me at twitter.com/clarissa373

LOST fans have been waiting, impatiently, for news of when the sixth and final season would kick off, and it now appears the island's final chapter will kick off on January 20th.  A word of caution though: this information is very subject to change, and the way it has wriggled out is far from through official channels.  Here are the details.

January 20th is the second rumored date to make the rounds, with the first being January 27th.  There is also a rumor that LOST will be taken off the air during the Olympics, but we'll come back to that later.  The January 20th premiere date for LOST has surfaced on a run-order report issued by ABC on one of their press websites.  With the LOST build-up kicking off officially this week – with the season 6 promo airing behind FlashForward – it wouldn't be surprising if this date were accurate.  A lot of folks who work the ebb and flow of network press behavior were expecting a date sometime after ABC officially began to promote LOST's sixth and final season.  It's important to note, though, that no-one at ABC has officially announced this date.

As for that Olympics rumor, a blogger for Harvard mentioned running into co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and claimed that Carlton had confirmed LOST would be leaving the air for the Olympics.  Traditionally,  this isn't the case.  In fact, LOST won its time-slot the last time it ran against the Olympics.  LOST has since 'lost' some of its ratings vitality, and if they are indeed returning to Wednesday's the island would be squaring off against Hockey – add to that the fact that NBC is planning to throw everything into the Olympics, and there may be reason to think ABC would pause the show.  On the other hand, LOST fans are notoriously averse to interruptions and since this is the last stretch  ABC may not be so concerned.

Yesterday I was pissed.  I came home and tried to watch the new Avatar trailer on Yahoo and was cruelly informed that the video was “unavailable in my location”.  I’m sorry, do I live in the outer-reaches of the Arctic?  Last time I checked Toronto was a major metropolitan  city.  And Canada was a first-world country.  We’re a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the United States and Yahoo somehow has the audacity to tell me that I am unable to watch a trailer for an upcoming movie.  A trailer.  For a movie that I’m fairly certain Fox wants me to pay to see in theatres.  Well guess what, Fox?  Now I’m going to see Avatar twice, instead of the three times that I had planned to go.  So you guys can deal with that.

This, of course, is merely a symptom of a larger problem.  I write articles about Hulu charging/not charging for content and none of that actually matters to me (or the rest of the world) because only Americans can watch videos on Hulu (I think they're working on making it available in the U.K., but I'm not sure this has happened yet).  Same with Fox.com.  Or ABC.com.  Or any other network’s website.  The worst site for this is MTV.com, where you can’t even watch interviews outside of the U.S., nevermind previews or television shows.  And do you know why?  It has something to do with our copyright laws.  And the U.K.’s copyright laws.  And the U.S.’s copyright laws.  And France’s copyright laws.  And even Azerbijan’s copyright laws.

Piracy of movies and television shows has been growing.  While I cannot say why, I think one of the reasons may be the lack of access to sites like Hulu beyond American borders.  If you cannot watch it legally online, you’ll download torrents.  Or use programs to spoof your IP addresses so that you can watch shows on American websites.  The movie and television networks are pouring millions of dollars into combating piracy.  The recent prosecution of the Pirate Bay’s owners demonstrates this.  But here’s another suggestion: why aren’t these companies spending this money to try and expand the reach of legal viewing of television shows and movies?

The practice of preventing people in outside locations from watching certain videos online is called “geoblocking”.  My intellectual property lawyer friend tells me that it’s actually our Canadian copyright laws that need to change in order to gain access to this legal content, as well as the practices and policies of Canadian broadcasters. (just like it's the fault of the U.K. government and broadcasters in that country and so on and so forth).    Someone needs to get on this.  It's not like online viewing of video files is a new thing.  Just because it’s taken the networks so long to realize that watching television online was the “next big thing” doesn’t mean it hasn’t been in practice for a long time.  Newspapers and the print industry is general are suffering because of the internet and the world-wide proliferation of news online.  If our government and the broadcasters – all around the world – can’t realize that online viewing is the future of television (although that’s not to say that it will necessarily replace regular viewing) then everyone will lose out.   Because people are clever and will always find a way to do something mildly illegal to get around rules and restrictions.

Broadcasters on both sides of the border are trying to recreate the existing boundaries of the real world into the digital world by using geoblocking to protect their rights and investments, says Alan Sawyer, a Toronto-based consultant who follows traditional and new media.  Source

Again, this quote merely illustrates my point.  You cannot cling to the old broadcasting models.  As a former lawyer myself I’m all about protecting legal rights, but surely there is a legal way around this.  Deals can be made.  Laws can be modified.  And the internet can finally become a global medium where we can all tune in to watch Hulu.  We could have local advertisers subsidize the streams we watch in different countries.

YouTube is one of the few sites that doesn’t seem to care about these ridiculous regulations  and has basically capitulated under the weight of its own worldwide popularity and the collective demands of its users.    Networks themselves post commercials for upcoming shows.  The only restrictions on YouTube occur when studios get wise to the fact that a trailer has been leaked and want to block it (or other similar situations).  Beyond that, I can happily watch scenes from a television show without someone blocking me because of my GPS location.  This is why I make it a point to only post YouTube videos on TVOvermind.  It's my understanding that some people encounter the dreaded "this video is not available in your location" message on YouTube, but I believe that occurs significantly less frequently than on other sites and I myself have never had a problem with it.

Someone, somewhere isn’t working hard enough to make this happen.  I don’t want to be told that I can’t watch something because of my location.  Companies want to make money and stay in business and I appreciate that.  But with the way the world is going, that’s going to take creative ideas and new models of business, not executives and governments stubbornly clinging to bedposts and door handles while the rest of the world tries to pull them in another direction.

Don't mock me with your little blue frowny face, Yahoo.  Get to work on this.

**Note: For some utterly ridiculous reason, if I continued clicking on the Avatar trailer "play" button and then left it open in my browser, it eventually started playing for me on its own and managed to disregard the fact that I live above the 49th parallel.  I have no idea why this is, but I'd be interested to learn whether this worked for other people in Canada and around the world.

Also, Fox?  Considering many people felt you botched Avatar Day, perhaps you should not have posted the newest trailer for this potential blockbuster on a site that would deliberately try to prevent people outside of the U.S. from watching it (whereas we could easily watch the teaser trailer on Apple's site with no problems).  And considering the combined overseas revenue will likely outweigh the domestic revenue, you might want to ensure that the rest of us have access to trailers like these.  Just a thought**

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow me at twitter.com/clarissa373

The Mentalist "Red Scare" begins with architect Alan Foster (David Kilde) working alone, late at night in an historic home. He hears a noise, then sees flashing lights behind a set of French doors. He moves closer, the doors open, and we see a shocked and frightened look on his face.

The next scene begins with Foster's body on the ground, dead after falling–or being thrown–out the upstairs window. The CBI team arrive on the scene, and thus begins the spooky Halloween ghost story installment of The Mentalist.

Deputy Nick Fisher of the local small town police informs the CBI that they've never had a violent crime before. All the players, even the deputy, seem suspicious as the plot moves on. Agent Lisbon (Robin Tunney) brings in a local thief who was on the property stealing construction tools the night of the murder. The thief saw Foster's wife Lillian (Christina Chang) in her car outside the house that same night.

The home's previous owner, Victoria Abner (Frances Fisher), still lives in town. Descended from the original owner, she couldn't afford to pay the tax bills, and thus was forced to sell. Abner's nephew Drew (Michael McMillian) is staying with her, using his skills as a paralegal to help her with the tax bill difficulties. Though initially grateful to sell, Victoria later accuses Foster of "stealing" her family home, and gets into a physical altercation with Lillian Foster over it.

Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) gets Deputy Fisher to confess about a local ghost story, which involves the original home owner dying in the same manner as Foster. He's said to haunt the place, and Lillian tells the CBI that her husband had been hearing moans and strange noises at the house.

Jane finds the local historian, Philip Raimey (Ron Canada) who tells him that there's also a rumored family fortune hidden in the house. He gets Agent Cho (Tim Kang) to ask the Abners about the ghost and treasure. Victoria acknowledges both, but says the family gave up hope of ever finding anything years ago.

Meanwhile on "Red Scare", Jane, Rigsby (Owain Yeoman), and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) work on figuring out how the killer got into the house without setting off the alarm. Jane freaks Van Pelt and Rigsby out by pulling the ghost routine on them. Turns out the original owner put an old-fashioned speaker system in the house, a sliding glass panel, and buttons to affect the electrical–all the basic smoke and mirrors needed for a fake haunting.

Jane then sends Rigsby and Van Pelt down an old bootlegger's secret passage, to see if they can find a way out to the outside–where Jane will be looking for a door. The passage is a little dark and spooky, which brings Rigsby and Van Pelt closer together–and eventually the surges of fear and relief lead to Rigsby confessing his love for Van Pelt. He's just about to kiss her when Jane flings open the outer hatch that leads to the tunnel they're in.

With a little more digging, the team discovers that the Raimey recently purchased an old letter that gave a clue to the original owner's treasure. This was why Victoria was suddenly so anxious to get her family home back. Jane and Lisbon get all the suspect together in the house while Jane deciphers the clue, which leads to a box…with another clue.

Lisbon pretends to be fed up with the whole treasure hunt and chases them all out, ordering the team to lock up the whole house and not let anyone in. This way the only person who can get in to try and pursue the latest planted "clue" will be the person who found their way in the last time. It turns out to be Victoria's nephew Drew. After a lifetime of hearing about his ancestors' fortune, he wanted his own piece of the pie. He tried to scare Foster away, but the architect didn't scare easily. He found Drew hidden in the house and in a panic, Drew struck and killed him. To cover up the crime, Drew threw him out the window and tried to blame it on the home's ghost.

Back at the CBI headquarters, the team celebrates another case solved. While the others are enjoying pizza and wine that Jane pours, Van Pelt drags Rigsby into another room for a make-out session. She tells Rigsby to follow her out to her car once they're done at headquarters. When they rejoin the group, they ask Jane about the key he really found in the home's hidden box. He tells them it led to a secret stash of the owner's wine collection, bottles worth perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. The team all stare into their plastic tumblers and then take appreciative drinks of their "treasure" wine.

Hopefully Mrs. Foster or Victoria won't find out.

Read all the TVOvermind The Mentalist recaps.

PHOTO: Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, The Mentalist "Red Scare" screencaps, c2009 Primrose Hill Productions, Warner Bros. Television, CBS.

It is important to note that this week's Modern Family was originally schedule to air earlier and was shot that way that is why the plot surrounds the first day of school. Check out what happened last night….

It's the first day of school, and Claire has packed all the lunches and Luke and Phil are doing some summer bonding in the last minute before he tells them he has got a summer homework assignment he has not done. It is a journal about every single day and what he did. Problem but Gloria is excited for Manny to go to the 5th grade. Jay is ready to take off but Manny comes down in a poncho, not what Jay wants to see. No school for Lily, but Mitchell and Cameron are still doing stuff with her, Cameron is doing a photo essay of Lily in pop icon costumes. Mitchell not so happy about this, so Cameron lets him get loose with some music and a baby but that does not happen so well when he hits her head on the wall. Uh oh.

Alex is ready to go with her cello and gear, with Haley getting driving lessons. She is not the best driver to say the least and I can see why with Claire and Phil not giving her much positive criticism. Also, Jay is not really happy about Manny's poncho while Gloria is so proud.

Mitchell is a little worried about what could have happened even though Lily seems fine, after calling Claire who thinks she is fine, they decided to go to the doctors. Jay has the day off and wants to take Gloria out for a getaway at the Club. But while out of the car, Gloria finds that Jay made Manny take of his dress so they have to take a little detour to the school. Another person with they day off is Phil and he is taken the day to annoy Claire as she wants to read her book. Claire is also going on a run but Phil thinks that he is so much faster, so they decide to race this afternoon. Who will win?

Mitchell and Cam are at the doctors. The doctor is Asian and seeing how Lily is also, Cam feels the need to talk about how much of her heritage will be incorporated into their parenting, but the doc is from Denver. She says nothing is wrong with the baby, and they head outside to the car, after the doctor gives a lesson to Michell by having to show her what happened to the baby, by banging his head on the wall. At the car, they get Lily inside, and Mitchell feels he is not a good father but Cam reassures him that they are both great at being dads and they are both new at this. But things go a little awry as the door closes and locks, but Lily is inside.

Gloria and Jay pull Manny out of class to give him the poncho and Jay apologizes for his attitude, but Gloria says it is going to far when Manny wants to play at Columbia flute song for his class, now that is too much. To stop him, Jay "accidentally"breaks it. The school day  ends and Alex and Luke come home just as Claire and Phil get started, the race is going to be epic!

Mitchell gets the car service to unlock the door but it was a little late after Cam is just about to break the car open with a trash can. Claire is so ahead in the race but she realizes that as she sees Phil's "Greatest Dad" t-shirt that he is just as upset that the kids are not in the house anymore. So she loses the race to make her husband feel better but that does not last long after he gets hit in the driveway as Haley's was pulling in. Ouch.

The episode concludes as Claire tells us that it is sad for everyone when kids move to school for the day, and it just makes her reliaze while parenting is the best job ever. She might not be thinking that however while Haley's practicing with the family in the car, a cop wants to pull them over and instead of pulling over, she speeds up. Not a good idea.

That was another funny installment, new episode next week!

A few days ago I wrote an article about how News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey made a statement that Hulu would start charging for content.  Naturally, people were not pleaseed, although some admitted that they would be willing to pay for certain types of content.

EW now has some follow-up information.  First, Hulu will continue to be FREE, but it will also include paid components. 

Contrary to widespread web reports, the wildly popular TV and movies streaming website Hulu is not planning to start charging for all its content — although you would certainly be forgiven for thinking so.

A source close to Hulu, however, tells EW that the site remains steadfastly committed to free content, explaining that any possible subscription or pay-per-view service has no set timeline and would only build upon what Hulu offers, not replace it.

So there you have it.  No real details yet on what kind of content Hulu will be charging for or what type of subscription service it might implement, but at least Americans can now rest easy that their free Hulu will continue in some form.  As for the rest of the world – we're still S.O.L.

Email me at clarissa @ tvovermind.com

Follow me at twitter.com/clarissa373

Instead of reviewing what I consider "the first real" episode of Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance, I would like to dedicate this time and space to encouraging everyone who's not watching this show to give it a try.  I've been watching this show since its second season and, all hyperbole aside, this season really promises to be the best season yet.

I say this as someone who's never seen a full episode of American Idol, Survivor, Fear Factor, or 90% of the other "reality-based television" shows.  I say this as someone who's seen every episode of Lost at least twice.  I say this as someone who's finally saved up enough money to buy the complete Battlestar Galactica box set on blu-ray.  I say this as self-confessed comic dork who owns ever issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, Runaways, Fables, Y: The Last Man. Most importantly, however, I say this as a fan of rich story-telling and as a general fan of art and music.

On its surface, So You Think You Can Dance is cut from the same mold as American Idol.  We have the three-to-four judges (including but not limited to a snippy Brit and an exhausting woman).  We have the weeks' long "so-awful-it's-good" audition process.  And we have the competition, the eliminations, and the drama.  But So You Think You Can Dance offers so much more than American Idol or any of the other reality TV I've had the displeasure of catching glimpses of.  Every week, we're treated to fresh and original choreography.

Some of the dances tell stories.  Everyone last season was blown away by a dance that honored breast cancer survivors (perhaps now is a good time to say no subject or story is off limits).  Some of the dances convey a mood or a feeling.  And sometimes, it's just dancing for the sake of dancing (disco, anyone?).  But it's good dancing.  It's not some pop star wannabe covering a best-forgotten 80's power ballad.  It's young and powerful dancers offering you, the viewing audience, something new — something challenging and sometimes something profound.

I personally show up for the stories.  You'd be amazed at some of the simple, yet profound, stories that can be told in two or three minutes of dance.  Sometimes they're as small and heart-breaking as a failed relationship, others times they're as epic as the Norse gods themselves.  Music, so often, can convey things that words cannot.  Dance, coupled with compelling music, can express things in three minutes that two hour movies would have a hard time scratching the surface of.

Something magical must have happened at Fox during Season 5.  Because it seems So You Think You Can Dance was finally given some money to play with.  The stage is bigger, prettier, and generally more impressive.  The new opening title sequence is appreciated, and Nigel (said snippy Brit) keeps saying Paula Abdul may be joining the show.  But the best addition to Season 6 so far was the Top 20 Dance Show.

Usually we're treated to the coast-to-coast auditions, which culminates in a week in Las Vegas where the judges pick the Top 20.  In the past, they jump right from Vegas to the show's first competition episode.  This season, we were treated to an episode in which the Top 20 were able to meet with the show's choreographers and give us an extra hour of dance.  It was nice to be able to meet everyone and see why the judges selected them, something that sometimes gets missed in the hustle-and-bustle of Vegas Week.

I know I'm doing nothing but singing its praises, but I'm willing to be honest and say that it's not all good.  Judge Mary Murphy is unable to speak her thoughts.  The poor girl must have been dropped one too many times or had one too many botoxes, because her communication setting is set permanently on "scream."  And some of the dances are awkward, confusing, or horrifically boring (I'm looking at you, Peasant Russian Folk Dance!).  But when it's good, it's the best hour of programming on television (this coming from a since-season-one fan of House).

Give it a try.  Open your mind, relax, sit back, and let some of America's best dancers show you a new perspective on life.

The first episode aired tonight.  So the first two dancers were eliminated.  But it's so early in the competition, we've barely met any of the dancers.  Now's your chance to jump on.

I would absolutely love to say that Mal Reynolds brief appearance on Castle last night was a wonderful surprise to me, but I'd be lying.  You see, while it was wonderful, it was hardly a surprise.  The web was abuzz with the rumor of the Firefly reference all last week and a grainy production image even made it onto the web.  I had almost posted about it myself, but the graininess of the image and uncertainty made me decide to wait it out, and if true, let it be a nice surprise to our readers.

The scene itself (which you can watch below if you missed it) was just about as perfect of an in-show reference as I've ever seen on television.  If you can think of one that was done better than this, please let me know about it, but I can't imagine anything done better, and more pleasing.  Had Sawyer, on Lost, ever uttered to Charlie "shut up you little hobit!" it still wouldn't have been as pleasing and fun as what Castle did.  Watch for yourself:



The best line, of course, was his daughter saying, "didn't you wear that like, five years ago?"  They even managed to include the nice little Firefly music in there.  And while I loved the scene, it also reminded me two things, first, how badly I miss Firefly…and second, how much I really love Castle.  Maybe not as much as Firefly (d'uh!) but I still love it.

I've included a nice little gallery below with some screen shots for those Firefly hungry fans out there.

Richard Castle as Mal Reynolds for Halloween

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If you hadn't heard, the re-imagining of the 80s mini-series V will premiere on ABC next week.  Of course, if you hadn't heard you're either deaf, in a coma, or haven't left your house in weeks.  ABC's marketing department has opened its eyes, finally, and thrown out all the stops on their new sci-fi drama about a group of aliens that arrive on Earth playing nice, but who secretly want to eat us (yeah, as in literally eat us).  So has ABC finally learned something from past mistakes at marketing a sci-fi drama for television, or have they just gotten lucky?

Its easy to pick on ABC, of course, because they've thrown us a lot of science fiction and quasi-science fiction over the last few years, but in reality every one of the broadcast networks have done a terrible job at promoting genre television.  Just look Fox and their inability to do much with Dollhouse and Firefly.  And NBC's monumental failure just last fall with Kings.  If anything, ABC has done a bit better than most, especially with their quasi-science fiction shows such as Lost and FlashForward.  But this summer ABC gave us Defying Gravity, a fantastic, well-written, and fun little summer show that almost nobody even heard about, and those that did had no desire to actually watch it.

The failure of Defying Gravity to grab viewers has been blamed, by many critics and fans alike, by the marketing and promotion of the show before it launched.  For the most part, advertising for Defying Gravity was minimal to none on ABC that week.  The ads that did air on the network described the show as "Grey's Anatomy in space" and other similar gimmicky comparisons.  ABC, like many networks in the past, seemed to have no idea who their audience was for this show.  Granted, Defying Gravity was not a show that was going to appeal to all sci-fi genre fans.  At its core, Defying Gravity was a character drama that explored the human condition and had themes rooted deeply in fate and our role in the universe that happened to be set in space.  As a science fiction fan it certainly appealed to me, but had it been marketed better it could have easily appealed to many others that don't consider themselves science fiction fans.  In short, their marketing not only drove away their core science fiction viewers, it also drove away their hopeful non-sci-fi audience as well.  Gravity's fate is still unknown, but for the time being it has been pulled off of ABC without finishing its first season episodes.  ABC has indicated that they will show the remaining episodes but have given no hint as to when or how this will happen.

V, however, has been a different story entirely so far.  Even before this week, commercials for the new series were all over their network, and in the past few days you can't get through a commercial segment without seeing them.  But more importantly has been the content of the commercials.  It's true that V is a different kind of show than Defying Gravity was.  V doesn't appear to be as centered on a serialized episode format, and because it doesn't happen "in space" it doesn't seem to be as science fiction centered.  But don't kid yourselves, although it will revolve around very human issues and the human struggle to survive, at its core V is a show about aliens who look like lizards and come to our planet to destroy us.  But even knowing that, you can watch the promotions that ABC is airing and not be consumed by the science fiction element.  The current promos clearly paint the series as being about manipulation, struggle, and survival.  The pleasant and calm face of Anna, the leader of the visitors, is chilling in the commercials when you consider their true intentions of human consumption.

In their promotions for V I haven't once heard them compare the show to Grey's Anatomy.  Nor have I heard them compare it to Lost or any other successful show on their network.  This is a good thing.  While some might disagree, it gives V the opportunity to establish itself without any preconceived notions, other than those set by it's predecessor.

In the end, we won't know for another week if the positive promotion and marketing of V has paid off, and resulted in strong ratings, and to be honest we don't even know if the quality of this show is good enough to keep any viewers the promotional marketing brings in.  While all genre shows seem to struggle over the long haul, I do predict that V will have a strong debut for a genre show, and ABC deserves all the credit if that happens.  If I'm wrong, then I'm sure we'll have plenty of articles across the web talking about how ABC failed in their marketing once again.  Success in television, after all, is a fickle bitch.