Marking the 24 hour countdown to the return of Lost, ABC will re-air the phenomenal 2-hour Season 3 finale, “Through the Looking Glass” on Wednesday, January 30 at 9/8c. What’s cool about this one is that it will be an “enhanced” version.

Throughout the episode, the bottom third of the screen will feature little bits of info, such as clues, backstory, and other behind-the-scenes facts.

I know that VH1 has done this with music videos in the past, and Back to the Future did it with the Trilogy DVD release, but the one that has really stuck with me was when the same technique was taken with the old Adam West Batman movie from 1966. It was quite a while back, and I can’t remember what channel it was on, but it was a blast to watch.

So be sure to tune in Wednesday night, if for no other reason than to experience the groundbreaking finale again, with maybe a little bit more insight.

If you’re a Dish Network subscriber, then you you may want to take advantage of the numerous discounts available through the company this weekend.

For families there is Surf’s Up (a great movie, btw) for only .99 cents, wrestling fans can get ready for the Royal Rumble by ordering WWE Presents: Rey Mysterio for $2.95, reality fans can check out Ultimate Police Chases 2 Uncensored for $2.95, and extreme sports enthusiasts can check out Hardcore Uncut Snowboarding $2.95

Those with more “adult” tastes can also check out 4 hour blocks of the Playboy Channel this weekend for only.02 cents. That’s right - just two pennies.

Have a nice weekend.

The CW has released the above poster to promote the next new episode of Smallville which is set to air on Jan. 31st, 2008. You can read the official episode description below.

BIZARRO TAKES OVER CLARK’S LIFE AND TRACKS DOWN BRAINIAC — While Clark (Tom Welling) is frozen in the Fortress, Bizarro takes over his life with Lana (Kristin Kreuk). Unaware she is with Bizarro, Lana enjoys the “new Clark” and shares information she’s gathered on a serial killer who is draining his victims of all trace minerals. The two conclude it must be Brainiac (guest star James Marsters) and Bizarro sets off to find him. Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) is stunned at Lionel’s (John Glover) reaction after Grant (guest star Michael Cassidy) reveals he is a clone of Julian. Marc McClure, Jimmy Olsen from the Superman films, guest stars as Dax-Ur. Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore and Laura Vandervoort also star. Todd Slavkin directed the episode written by Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead

Damages was one of the best shows on television last year…as a matter of fact, I named it the best new drama of 2007. If you missed out on this fantastic program, or if you fell in love with it as much as I did, this coming Tuesday is going to be the day for you.

On January 29, the FX drama comes to DVD and BluRay. Special features on both versions include Willful Acts: The Making of Damages, Understanding Class Action: Interactive Guide, Trust No One: Insight from the Creators and commentaries on select episodes.

If you missed out on this phenomenal show, I highly urge you to check it out on DVD. You can read what I had to say about it here.

The standard version starts at $49.95 and the BluRay version retails at $79.95.

American Idol pulled in a ridiculously huge audience again this week…that should surprise no one. The thing that should have everyone scratching their heads is what happened after Idol.

FOX’s new game show, Moment of Truth premiered, and it pulled in huge numbers. Like 23 million viewers huge. To put it in perspective, Idol averaged almost 27 million viewers, which means that Truth held onto 85% of the singing juggernaut’s audience share.

What’s more, Truth, Idol and Deal or No Deal brought in a combined viewership of 63.79 million viewers. The worst thing for me is that now the studios have something else to point to and say, “See, unscripted programming can pull in the ratings!” The last thing we need is for them to have yet another weapon to pull out in this fight.

(Source: TV by the Numbers)

Two more names have been added to the expanding cast list for the upcoming FOX drama from J.J. Abrams, entitled Fringe.

First up is Lance Reddick. The star of HBO’s The Wire and the forthcoming season of Lost will take on the role of a Homeland Security special agent who specializes paranormal events.

Next is John Noble, who you should immediately recognize from his role as Denethor in Lord of the Rings. He will be taking on the role of one of the central characters, the scientist whose crazy ideas have left him institutionalized, but which also may prove to be the answer to the sudden outbreak of paranormal events.

No word yet on the female FBI agent who will be the primary protagonist.

(Source: TV Guide)

TNT has ordered 10 episodes of a new Steven Bochco produced series called “Raising the Bar” which follows the lives of young lawyers whos law school friendships are put to the test when they end up working on opposite sides.

“‘Raising the Bar’ is the sort of smart, highly charged legal drama for which Steven Bochco is known and an ideal fit for our lineup,” says Michael Wright, TNT’s programming boss. “Steven and the exceptional cast and crew he’s assembled have put together an excellent drama, and we’re proud to add another talent-rich, entertaining series to the TNT schedule.”

The show will feature some Steven Bochco mainstays like Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Currie Graham, both “NYPD Blue” veterans, along with Gloria Reuben (”ER”), J. August Richards (”Angel”), Jane Kaczmarek (”Malcolm in the Middle”), Melissa Sagemiller (”Sleeper Cell”), Jonathan Scarfe (”Into the West”) and Teddy Sears (”Studio 60,” “CSI: Miami”).

There is no air date set just yet, as the Writer’s Strike does have an obvious influence on when this series will be able to kick-start into production.

via zap2it

It comes as no surprise that FOX dominated the ratings this week with both American Idol and the NFC Championship games on the network. NBC still finds Deal or No Deal to be its strongest commodity, while CBS scored decent numbers with its Comanche Moon tv movie.

1. NFC Championship (FOX)
2. NFC Championship - Gun (FOX)
3. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
4. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
5. NFC Championship - Post Game (FOX)
Read the rest of this entry »

CEO Jeff Zucker announced yesterday that NBC will be drastically cutting their pilot program…as in cutting it into non-existance.

In an effort to save the almighty dollar, the Peacock network will not be producing pilots for the upcoming season. Now, it’s likely that all of the major networks will cut back this year as well, due to the strike, but NBC is wanting this to be a permanent change. Zucker says that the network could save up to $50 million a year by killing pilot production…”Sometimes you see the world from a different perspective when you’re flat on your back. At NBC Entertainment we’ve been flat on our backs for the last few years.”

You can’t make this crap up.

Is NBC Universal really in this much financial trouble? I can see scaling back on pilots…maybe not spending an astronomical amount, and giving them a budget more representative of the one the show will have when it is on the air. But how can some of the truly revolutionary shows be pitched effectively?

Think about it this way…shows like Law & Order don’t really need a pilot to pitch a new spinoff…you’ve got the idea of what to expect. But how do you get a feel for a truly groundbreaking show like, say, Pushing Daisies, without a pilot? “See, it’s a show about a guy who can touch dead things and bring them back to life, but then if he touches them again, they go back to being dead, but if he doesn’t touch them, something else has to die, and it’s told with this really surreal style…” Yeah, you get my drift. You can do that, or you can show them how it’s actually going to look onscreen.

Am I way off base on this? Is it not as big a deal as I’m making it out to be? Or has NBC finally gone off the deep end?

If you missed the fantastic first season of Jericho, you’ll soon have the opportunity to catch up on it. SCIFI Channel has picked up the cable rerun rights for the post-apocalyptic drama. Beginning at 7/6c on Monday, February 11, the cable network will run a four-episode marathon of Jericho, which kicks off its second season on February 12. No word on what those episodes will be, exactly…I’m hoping that they’ll be enough to get people who missed out on the first season caught up before the second season premiere. The reruns will then air on Mondays at 10/9c on SCIFI.

In related news, exec producer Carol Barbee talked to SCI FI Wire about the possibilities of a third season for the show. “I’m just guessing here, but I would imagine that probably, they usually start to have an opinion around the third airing, so usually by then your fate can be sealed in terms of it not going well…They may wait another week or so if it is going well for us to order more.”

Now, I’ve had the opportunity to check out the first three episodes of Jericho, and let me tell you, if they pull in the audience that they deserve, then CBS has no choice but to renew it. I’ll save my proper review until the premiere rolls closer, but I’ll leave it at this…the first episode is not only just as good as last season, but it is actually a large improvement…and the two subsequent episodes are tremendous as well. If you tune into the premiere, I DARE you to not stick around for the full season.

So start getting the word out now. Tuesday, February 12 at 10/9c on CBS.

(Source: TV Guide and SCI FI Wire)