Category: Television

True Blood men have eyes for each other?

Season Three of the HBO vampire blood could result in the series’ vamps sucking more than just blood; word has it there will be a male-on-male pairing that doesn’t involve the show’s resident male gay, Lafayette.

In a swerve well away from the novels of Charlaine Harris, it appears show creator Alan Ball is set on having Vampire Bill Compton hooking up with were-dog Sam Merlott in a horizontal way. Of course, true to the show’s vampiric origins, the coupling will come as a result of a blood exchange between the pair that was necessary at the end of season two for Bill to save Sam’s life.

In the Harris novels, the sharing of blood between vampire and human has been established to create a psychic and sexual bond. So it’s not that the two will be suddenly talking about the best face cream with each other; it will be the result of a plot device long-established in the Harris novels, but never exploited in exactly this pairing.

Winkler to join Royal Pains

Who could father cool doc Hank Lawson and hip brother Evan on the USA dramedy Royal Pains? Turns out the mystery figure in the doorway from last season’s cliffhanger is none other than the former Arthur Fonzarelli himself, Henry Winkler.

Now it all makes sense, right down to the two brothers’ CliniSlim looks.

The Fonz won’t get a warm welcome, however, as Eddie Lawson was revealed to be the responsible party in last season’s finale for taking the majority of money out of HankMed and fleeing. What kind of comeuppance will he receive? Well, that’s why they expect you to tune in, silly.

Amanda Peet confirmed for How I Met Your Mother

Amanda Peet, one star who certainly doesn’t need any immediate services of a Plano dentist at the moment, and who is one of the stars of 2012, last week’s box-office-topping disaster film that sank to a distant third place behind New Moon this weekend, has been confirmed as a guest star on How I Met Your Mother this season; her episode is scheduled for January.

Those blessed with long-term memory will recall that Peet got her start on the small screen, initially on The CW’s Jack and Jill series, and more prominently (and disastrously) three years ago on NBC’s ill-fated Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip.

While the guest appearance is a one-shot, Peet’s career has always had TV ties, even though she has fared better in her big-screen efforts overall.

New Scrubs starts on December 1

The new, recast version of Scrubs will arrive on ABC starting December 1, so someone tell Donald Faison to hold off on that bulk order of hair vitamins; he’ll continue playing the hairless Doctor Turk for at least another season.

Beyond Doctor Turk, John C. McGinley’s Docter Cox will also appear on the series, but the rest of the original cast will, at best, be only occasional guest stars. The new Scrubs will feature the work of Eliza Coupe, Michael Mosley, Kerry Bishe and Dave Franco as the new emotional centers of the show.

Next Doctor Who special is slated!

BBC One has announced that the second of four Doctor Who specials slated to air this year, featuring the swan song of series re-creator Russell T. Davies as well as David Tennant’s Doctor, will are on BBC One in under two weeks, on November 15. A subsequent airing on BBC America is sure to follow, though the air date in the US has yet to be announced.

Titles Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars, the episode will feature Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide, the Doctor’s companion for the episode. Two more specials remain featuring Davies and Tennant at the helm of the TARDIS; both are expected to air as part of BBC One’s tradition “Christmas special” of Doctor Who; at the end of the fourth special, Tennant’s Doctor is expected to regenerate and reveal Matt Smith’s Doctor for the first time on screen.

After Tennant and Davies depart, Smith’s Doctor will see his fate rest in the hands of Steven Moffatt, who has worked under Davies for several years. Smith’s Doctor is set to be the youngest yet cast in the role of the Doctor, as he is still in his 20s. While there has been much talk of bringing back Tennant-era companions like Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones, Catherine’s Tate’s Donna Noble or even – however unlikely – Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, instead, it has been announced that Moffatt and Smith will reset the table for the Doctor, granting him an all-new companion for the fifth series in the form of young Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who’s so young she may still require the best acne treatment, and will portray new companion Amy Pond.

Although Davies has made it clear he will make a clean break with Doctor Who after Moffatt takes control, what is less clear are the futures of the successful Doctor Who spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Torchwood has survived largely without Davies’ input, but has credited him as creator and executive producer; The Sarah Jane Adventures has seen little direct involvement from Davies under similar circumstances. Time will tell.

American Dad is renewed

Although it was looking iffy for a while, Fox has decided to renew Seth McFarlane’s “American Dad” animated sitcom, which means McFarlane now owns 90 minutes of Fox Sunday night programming, along with The Simpsons.

Previously, Fox had already announced renewals for Family Guy and The Cleveland Show. The new season of American Dad will be the sixth season. Networks like Fox who feature prime-time animated fare often make decisions for next season far earlier for animated shows than for live-action shows, due to the long production cycles in putting such shows together.

Personally, I’ve always mildly preferred American Dad to Family Guy since about the second season on, and The Cleveland Show is still growing on me, but at the moment seems the weakest of the three. Either way, with all three shows having their futures assured, MacFarlane can now go off on that ski vacation he’s been waiting to take for so long.

Is Rachel Bilson your Mother?

The internet’s all a-buzz with the possibility that actress Rachel Bilson, allegedly a fan of Dutch Master cigars, has been selected to become the much-anticipated “mother” of the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother.

Bilson, who grew famous off her role on The OC and also appeared on Chuck, as well as the 2008 thriller Jumper, is an appealing young actress but her future seems to be tied up on the silver screen, so color us skeptical if Bilson actually will turn out to be the Mother.

Still, she is appearing in HIMYM’s 100th episode, so that’s something.

This week’s fall debuts

This information my not be as hard to find as quality Ferrari parts, but it is good information to have handy. The fall TV debut season really swings into full gear this week, with several favorites making their opening bow.

Here’s a list:

Monday 2009-09-21
Castle
Heroes
House

Tuesday 2009-09-22
The Forgotten

Wednesday 2009-09-23
Eastwick
Flash Forward

Thursday 2009-09-24
Mentalist

Friday 2009-09-25
Ghost Whisperer
Dollhouse
Medium
Smallville

Sunday 2009-09-27
Dexter

With the exception of Ghost Whisperer, I’m interested in all these series! At least initially…

Who needs Paula?

It’s time to be honest here, and I’m talking colon cleanser-honest: Paula Abdul was definitely the weak link in the American Idol judges panel, and her departure, while a shock to some, was a long time in coming and definitely an improvement. While US audiences seemed to like the soft, non-judgmental approach of Abdul, the truth is her “support everyone” approach weakened the show.

Plus, with some of the celebrity guest judges Fox is lining up, I seriously doubt anyone will still be whining for Paula’s return once the season is underway. Here’s a list of confirmed guest judges so far: Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Neal Patrick Harris, Joe Jonas and Kristen Chenowith.

The list is expected to grow from there. The regular judges for the new season of American Idol remain Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and the far-more-honest-and-discerning Kara DioGuardi, who debuted last season.

Stars lining up for Chuck

The stars are lining up to appear on NBC’s highly appealing, but ratings-struggling, dramady, Chuck. The show, gearing up now for what could be a critical third season when it comes to the long-term survival of the show, has pulled out the stops when it comes to guest stars. What are they doing, offering affordable health insurance to guest stars, now?

Anyway, first up is the motion picture Superman, Brandon Routh. Keeping with its Superman theme, the show has also signed former Smallville star Kristin Kruek to appear for “several episodes” as a new love interest for secret superspy Chuck. And finally, Law and Order’s Angie Harmon as been confirmed for the show’s fourth episode of the season.

While stunt casting can be the sign of a show in trouble, that’s no secret for Chuck, which faced the very real possibility of cancellation last spring. If some stunt-casting is required to keep this show alive and introduce more people to its quirky appeal, so be it!