The well-cast and witty EASTWICK, a dramedy in the vein of CHARMED, only with slightly older stars, is doomed; ABC has decided not to extend its initial order of 13 episodes of the freshman show. While I’ll admit the role of Darrel Van Horne was filled by an actor rather unworthy of Jack Nicholson’s shoes, the three women in the cast had developed a sharp comic chemistry.

Rebecca Romijn was appealing, Lindsay Price was the most promising new talent, and Jamie Ray Newman was the most relatable character in the show, though a bit too trim to be believable as a mother of five. I mean, what kind of fat burner is she using?

Anyway, all three women should go on to bigger and better things soon, and perhaps Paul Gross will find a role that Jack Nicholson hasn’t made impossible to walk into.

In terms of forthcoming new releases this weekend, there’s not a lot to look forward to, other than the ridiculously over-the-top disaster movie, 2012, by director Roland Emmerich. If anything like this movie ever happened, insurance marketing would collapse, but we’d all be dead so who cares, right?

Granted, the special effects are custom-built for the big screen and it’ll even look good on 1080p HDTV sets, but the whole escape from LA sequence is just too ridiculous for words. How can everyone but ONE GUY be getting killed when the destruction is that close behind him? Just not credible… kinda like the global warming theory Emmerich’s previous flick, DAY AFTER TOMORROW, was built around.

Disney’s new animated version of A Christmas Carol hit theaters three weeks before Thanksgiving, but produced a hit for the weekend, raking in an even $30 million in its opening bow. While some nice Orlando vacations might be a warmer destination, it was a nice, cozy spot atop the box office, which began November with a nice, $100 million plus for the Top 12 movies out this week.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It slowed down considerably, but was still good enough for a distant second place, hauling in $13.1 million. The Men Who Stare At Goats wasn’t far behind at number three, with $12.7 million, while The Fourth Kind was close behind that, at $12.2 million.

Paranormal Activity was the first movie to finish with less than $10 million, hauling in $8.2 million nearly two months after its initial limited release and a month after it first hit theaters nationwide. The Cameron Diaz vehicle opened poorly with $7.5 million, but fortunately only sported a $25 million budget.