Iron Man 2

Entertainment Tonight premiered a few moments from the film, including a scene where Pepper kisses Iron Man (well, his helmet, anyway). [via Cinema Blend]

Forbidden Planet

As if he doesn't have enough on his plate, James Cameron has confirmed that he's "actively involved" in J. Michael Straczynski's project. But apparently he hasn't made any decisions about what his role will be. [MTV]

Inception

We get our first one-sheet for Chris Nolan's mysterious thriller. Apparently, the crime scene inside Leonardo DiCaprio's mind has a plumbing issue. [/Film]

Toy Story 3

A new pic shows the toys heading off to their new home. Check out the full-sized image at Empire Magazine.

Sherlock Holmes

If you've always wondered what goes on the set of a Guy Ritchie movie, Cinema Blend has a bunch of behind-the-scenes clips. [Cinema Blend]

Rec 2

Here's the Italian trailer for the sequel to the Spanish plague film. [via ShockTillYouDrop]

Doctor Who

The Angels will have the phone box once again. Steven Moffat has revealed that the creepy Weeping Angels from "Blink" will return in the next season. [Blogtor Who]

Also, the Tenth Doctor wishes you a Merry Christmas in a pair of station identifications. [Planet Gallifrey]

True Blood

The casting directors have been very busy lately. Joe Manganiello, who has had recurring roles on One Tree Hill and How I Met Your Mother, landed one of the season's key parts — that of the heroic werewolf Alcide. [E!]

Eric's dancing lover has also been cast. Natasha Alam will play the Fangtasia employee who takes up with the blond viking. And Gregg Daniel has been cast as Reverend Daniels, spiritual adviser to Tara's mom (and object of her affections). [EW]

But that's not all! Sam and Lafayette are both getting new parental units. Cooper Huckabee will be introduced in the season's second episode as Joe Lee Mickens, Sam's father, and multiple Emmy Award-winner Alfre Woodard is signing on as Lafayette's mom. [ShockTillYouDrop, ShockTillYouDrop]

Lost

As promised, there's no new footage in the pre-premiere promos, but relive the previous seasons' tragedies to "Amazing Grace." [via /Film]

More news from the sets. At the Diamond Head Stage, Desmond, Mikhail, and Sayid are going to be getting wet. At an airport, Sun and Jin were seen going through customs. [DarkUFO]

And here are few more of the casual wear promo pictures. [Lyly Ford]

Chuck

Zachary Levi promises that Chuck's cool new powers (including fluency in Thai) won't change the klutzy heart of the show. Armand Asante will be playing the leader of the Costa Gravas, a sort of Castro-like figure. Chuck gets stuck on an airplane with Stone Cold Steve Austin's bad guy character. According to the creators, Brandon Routh and Kristin Kreuk's characters will be more than romantic obstacles for Chuck and Sarah, and that they will be connected to the larger mythology of the show. Kreuk's character Hannah will set multiple hearts aflutter at the Buy More, and that's just one issue the store has to deal with. Buy More will contend with cutbacks and management overthrows, and will get a new assistant manager. [Cinema Blend]

Chuck goes kung fu in Converse sneakers in a new Season Three poster.

Meanwhile, the set photos show Chuck giving Brandon Routh a lift. [Socialite Life]

And NBC has more promos to get you ready for the new season. [via Spoiler TV]

Still want more Chuck? In a new special preview feature, the cast talks about the new season.

And Zachary Levi is excited to get back to superspying.

Smallville

More details have emerged on the two-hour Justice Society movie. Apparently, the first episode starts with a death, which sets Clark's encounter with the JSA in motion. But one member has a special interest in clark. Says Britt Irvin of her character Stargirl:

"She has a special connection with Clark because he reminds her a lot of her mentor," says the actress. What's more, when the JSA gets wind (via Dr. Fate) of Clark's destiny, Stargirl realizes "he's very important for mankind."

Irvin also says that her mysterious mentor will make an appearance (as a corpse?), and that Stargirl and Hawkman will have some friction with Green Arrow in the beginning. [Fancast]

FlashForward

Here's a casting call for the 15th episode:

[WOMAN] 30s-40s.. Any Ethnicity. Office worker leaving at the end of the work day. She encounters an incident outside her building and is forced to wait to go home...CO-STAR

[FBI AGENT #1] 30s-40s, Male, Any Ethnicity. No-nonsense FBI Agent. Tasked with handling a sensitive issue, he must maintain order while tempers flare...CO-STAR

[FBI AGENT #2] 30s-40s, Male, Any Ethnicity. No-nonsense FBI Agent. Tasked with handling a sensitive issue, he must maintain order while tempers flare...CO-STAR

[DINA] 30s. Female, Any Ethnicity. An amusement park employee with a talking parrot that are both very helpful in giving directions.sptv050769..CO-STAR

[Spoiler TV]

And another for the 16th episode:

[KENT NELSON] 40s... Any Ethnicity. Homeless, a loner. He experiences a violent encounter with someone from his past...Co-Star/Possible Recurring

[GREG] 30s, Male, Any Ethnicity. A Secret Service Agent assigned to protective detail. He is by-the-book and official in his interaction with a visitor whom he escorts to meet with his boss...Co-Star

[DAVID] 30s-40s, Any Ethnicity. An Episcopal minister. Welcoming, relatable. He shows his church to some visitors who are interested in using it for a ceremony...Co-Star

[CHUCKIE] 50's, Any Ethnicity. A sandwich maker at Bay Cities. Frustrated with amount of orders from demanding customers.sptv050769..Co-Star

[Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder and Charlie Jane Anders.

The premise of FlashForward is that everybody in the world blacks out at the same time, and for a few minutes they see what's going to happen to them six months into the future. Hence, the "flashforward" of the title. Because everybody is blacked out during this flashforward, of course, chaos reigns. Planes and cars crash; people die. It's a strange and intriguing disaster, and now characters on the show are hinting that it was caused by a physics research facility in Palo Alto, clearly modeled on an actual facility associated with Stanford University in Palo Alto. On the website for the Stanford Linear Accelerator, SLAC for short, you can find an informative FAQ responding to FlashForward's science flailing.

They explain that plasma-wakefield acceleration experiments have gone on at SLAC, but only with electrons. They write:

SLAC does have a cutting-edge plasma-wakefield acceleration program that is creating the next generation of particle accelerators. However, it works by accelerating electrons (and their anti-matter cousin positrons) rather than the much heavier protons. At this time, there are no experiments that attempt to accelerate protons using plasma wakefields.

In addition, no matter what you did with these experiments, you wouldn't get a flashforward:

Plasma-wakefield acceleration is just an advanced technique to boost particles to high energies, something that particle physicists have been doing for decades. Even the most speculative theories rooted in real physics make no prediction that anything like a flashforward could occur.

"Although we can use particle accelerators to essentially look backward in time to recreate the conditions of the universe soon after the big bang, there is no known way to look into the future," says Mark Hogan, chief experimental scientist for the plasma wakefield program at SLAC's FACET.

In other words, FlashForward is full of crap. These scientists are too nice to say that directly, so I'll just say it for them.

via SLAC and Symmetry Breaking

Doctor Who:

Someone posting over at the IMDB forums claims to have seen "The End Of Time Part 1," and says Bernard Cribbins and the Doctor travel to "the vast wastelands of London" as well as visiting the Time War. Wilf wants to save his granddaughter, Donna, who's once again struggling with her own mind. The villains are Joshua Naismith and his wife, who resurrect the Master as part of a plan to bring back the Time Lords, but this is just part of a larger scheme. At the end of the first part, the Time Lords materialize through the Immortality Gate and arrest the Master. And meanwhile, Donna's eyes are on fire. Take of all this with an immense grain of salt. [Gallifrey Base]

Meanwhile, Russell T. Davies explains more about what's going on in this episode:

The Doctor went through hell, on Mars. I think its important to note the angry, vengeful Doctor glimpsed in that climax is gone-that was the point of Adelaide's death; she saved the future, and saved the Doctor from himself. He was brought back to his senses. And as you've seen from the Children in Need clip, a lot of the old, chipper Doctor has been restored. Which is only right and proper, because that's the Doctor we want to see in his final story - the classic hero, the good man, the lovely funny, skinny fellow in the suit and trainers... and as ever, there's a melancholy beneath the smile - he's still aware that he's facing the end of his song, and the ominous four knocks. He can't know whether this means regeneration or actual death - and neither can you, cos we might have some tricks up our sleeves!

And he adds, in reference to the Master:

In 'The Sound of Drums" and 'Last of the Time Lords', he mirrored the Doctor by being powerful, suave and megalomaniac. Now, it's a new opposite - lost and raw and savage. Something's gone very wrong with his return - you'll have to watch to find out what! - but that x-ray effect see in the trailer, where he's all skull and bones, is the just the start of the trouble....imagine all the pent up forces of a Time Lord body - artron energy, regeneration energy, all the stuff - ripping open and broken loose. A dying timelord is a terrifying thing! So with the Master dying, the Doctor's end approaching, and both determined to survive, they're hurtling along an almighty collision course. And that's just part one!

Also, Minnie Hooper is helping Wilf track the Doctor down because people have had bad dreams, and Wilf is hiding out at a church. And there's a mystery involving a silver cloak, which Wilf knows about. And the Doctor gets strapped down to a table at one point. [Doctor Who Magazine via Fanatical Whovian]

Meanwhile, RTD tells Time Out Magazine that this episode includes the homeless in London getting burgers from a charity van, and Donna's middle-class family sitting down for turkey dinner, and then the obscenely rich Naismith family, with a mansion and servants. And then of course there are monsters and a chase, and all of these elements are leading in one direction. [Life The Universe And Combom]

Lost:

Rumor has it that some of the leaks and set reports from this show's final season have caused some scenes to be reshot and changed. According to unnamed sources, nothing major has been reworked, but some minor details were changed to differ from what's leaked out so far. Bear in mind, this is only a rumor, and there aren't actually any details about what's allegedly been revamped. [SpoilersLost]

There's a pretty huge spoiler hidden as an Easter egg on the new season five BluRay set: This scene breakdown of the end of the last episode, in which apparently we were originally supposed to see Jack's group absorbed by a white light, and then Richard Alpert sees a mushroom cloud off in the distance. [SpoilersLost]

An unnamed source claims that Richard Alpert meets both the Man In Black and Jacob in his flashback, and Richard Alpert fights Jacob in the 1800s, and a "special" knife is involved. [SpoilersLost]

And here are some new promo pics of our castmembers, which aren't spoilery unless you consider who's included among the cast. [Doc
Arzt]

Day Of The Triffids:

Here are a ton of new promo pics from this British remake, which airs in the U.K. on Dec. 28 and 29. Cannot wait! [Den Of Geek]

Jonah Hex:

There are some reshoots going on, and apparently they include some scenes with Jonah's wife, who hasn't previously been included in the film. At least, that's what people are speculating based on a new casting call:

[CASSIE] - wife of 'Jonah Hex' (Josh Brolin). Native American. Pretty, young, sexy.

[TRAVIS] - age 9 (to play younger)... Must be a match to Josh Brolin and Native American 'Cassie'.

[JEB TURNBULL] - son of 'Quentin Turnbull' (John Malkovich). 30 - 35. Skinny, southern accent. Needs one or two days for prosthetics.

[PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON] - 50-60. Look alike, if possible.

[ADVISOR] - to President Johnson. Younger, 1870's version of a "West Wing" character.

[DEAD GUY] - late 20s/30s. Scary looking.. May need a day for prosthetics/possible make-up.

[SpoilerTV-Movies]

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus:

Terry Gilliam talks about his inspiration in a couple of new interviews, one of which is partly in Russian except the parts where he talks:

The Hobbit:

Peter Jackson hopes that both Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett will return for this duology, even though Blanchett's character, Galadriel, doesn't appear in the book. [MTV]

Nightmare On Elm Street:

It seems like they're filming a new scene in a diner where Nancy (the main character?) works, judging from a new casting call, seeking the diner's owner and waitress. Plus some teenagers hanging out there. It sounds as though this additional scene is meant to clear up something that confused test-screening audiences. [SpoilerTV-Movies and BloodyDisgusting via IGN]

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows:

The cast still hasn't shot the infamous epilogue scene yet, and they're waiting to hear if they'll do it themselves or have other actors replace them as adults. [MTV]

And even as this two-part movie is filming, there are tons of on-the-fly rewrites and new scripts and last-minute changes because "We're terrified we're not going to get it right," says Daniel Radcliffe. Also, after Rupert Grint's bout with swine flu, his new name is Pigboy Heart Attack. [MTV]

Fringe:

A casting call went out for a guest star whom we'll meet in episode 2x16:

[HEATH] 30-35... Interesting look, lean and wiry. Open ethnicity.

[SpoilerTV]

Asked whether Peter's mom is from our universe or Over There, Jeff Pinkner replies cryptically: "In a show exploring two alternate universes, there is more than one of everything… and everyone." [EW]

Chuck:

This season, there's more international travel, taking Chuck out of the U.S. and dropping him into hotspots. And don't worry, Chuck's still a bumbling hero even though he knows kung-fu. His emotions interfere with his new abilities, and the new intersect is sometimes "fritzing out." The first episode is a "heist episode," In which Chuck and Sarah have to rappel Mission Impossible-style into a vault. One thing that Chuck is getting better at, though? Lying. Which is both good and bad. [TV Guide]

Sarah will go from being Chuck's caretaker to something more like his boss this season. Chuck's training as a real spy will bring up more backstory about Sarah's own entry into the spy biz, including her real name. [TV Guide again]

Flashforward:

There are a ton of casting calls for episodes 15 and 16. In episode 15, we'll meet Spiller, a white guy whose affable veneer can't hide the fact that he's a dick. And Lilliana, an older Latina woman who distrusts the FBI. There are also a couple of hospital nurses who encounter a frantic man searching for his loved one who's a patient, a tattooed Latino tough guy mechanic, a motherly Japanese waitress who takes an interest in a female customer, a mysterious dreadlocked man named Geoff, a driver on a sensitive assignment, and a teenager who offers to help an obvious drunk guy. (Mark? Does Mark get drunk and then wind up in the hospital?)

And then in episode 16, we meet Secret Service agent Freddie Ochoa, who gossips about a former colleague, and Marlene, the world-weary director of a group foster home. Plus Daniel, a Korean family man, Wanda, an African American mother, Raymond, an African American father, a federal prosecutor, a judge, a stenographer, a local TV host, a local TV weather girl, an older drunk who startles the wrong person, and a cute young guy and the girl he gets to know better in a humorous scene. Then there's Kat, a 27-year-old girl next door who's hiding a dark secret. [SpoilerTV and SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Nathan's death is really "the big one that sticks" this time around, says Adrian Pasdar. And then he adds, "You never really know with this show." [MultipleVerses]

Just because Gretchen let Claire go off and become a carny, doesn't mean we've seen the last of her, says actor Madeline Zima. Right now, Gretchen is doing the whole "if you love someone set them free" thing, but it's not going to work out that great, reading between the lines. [TV Guide]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Mad Max: Fury Road:

Just how big is the set for this film? Says star Tom Hardy:

It's massive. It's enormous," he continued. "It's like turning a mountain upside down and pouring it through a sieve.

Any clue what that means? It sounds epic, anyway. [MTV]

Avatar:

Not sure if we've already run this clip or not, but if not, then enjoy:

And here's a clip we definitely haven't shown you before. I love Neytiri wearing her sunglasses to ride her dragon. [Cineplex via Slashfilm]

The Lovely Bones:

Weird nitpicks: After Stanley Tucci's creepy pedophile murderer tosses his victim Susie Salmon's charm bracelet in the water, but keeps the "house" charm. But then we see all the charms expand into ice sculptures or clouds or topiaries — but the house charm is still among them. Also, before Susie dies we see her reading Seventeen magazine, but after she dies, she fantasizes she's the cover girl in Groovy Teen magazine. Towards the end of the movie, Susie sort of inhabits the body of a goth girl who looks like Emly the Strange, and makes out with Emily's boyfriend, whom Susie loved before she died. Then Susie goes to heaven permanently, and we see Emily and her boyfriend spooning, with no mention of the weird ghost possession make-out that just happened. [Black Book Mag]

Kick Ass:

A new character poster gives us a better look at the Red Mist. Bigger version at the first link. [AICN via Cinemablend]

Endangered Species:

A few new details about Eli Roth's Transformers-meets-Cloverfield movie. It's set against an urban backdrop. He's tweaking the script at Quentin Tarantino's suggestion. He's going to do some visual-effects tests, the results of which will determine how he shoots the thing. It's very character-driven, and he has some actors he's dying to work with. [MTV]

Eclipse:

A new picture of your favorite couple, Edward and Bella. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Doctor Who:

As you may have heard, the show was filming in Croatia this past week, with the Doctor, Amy and new companion Rory in tow. (And some are claiming that Rory is Amy's boyfriend — is he the new Mickey Smith?) The Croatia filming appears to be for an episode taking place in the past, judging from some of the costumes. But don't believe the British media chatter that it's an episode about vampires — it's almost certainly the Van Gogh episode that Richard Curtis wrote. More pics at the links. [Sky and Hello!]

Here are a bunch of promo pics from "The End Of Time," David Tennant's swansong, one or two of which we may have shown you before. They include your first look at the alien, shapeshifting Vinovicci. [BlogtorWho and BSCReview]

Meanwhile, Britain's Radio Times has another cast list for "End Of Time" part 2, which conflicts with the IMDB version. Notably, no Harriet Jones. Hmmm...

David Tennant - The Doctor
John Simm - The Master
Bernard Gribbins - Wilfred Mott
Timothy Dalton - The Narrator
Catherine Tate - Donna Noble
Jacqueline King - Sylvia Noble
June Whitfield - Minnie Hooper
Claire Bloom - The Woman
David Harewood - Joshua Naismith
TRacy Ifeachor - Abigail Naismith
Lawry Lewin - Rossiter
Sinead Keenan - Addams
Alexandra Moen - Lucy Saxon
Karlo Collins - Shaun Temple
Teresa Banham - Governor
Barry Howard - Oliver Barnes
Allister Bain - Winston Katusi
Sylvia Seymour - Miss Trefusis
Pete Lee-Wilson - Tommo
Dwayne Scantlebury - Ginger
Joe Dixon - The Second
Julie Legrand - The Partisan
Brid Brennan - The Visionary
Krystal Archer - Neys
Lachele Carl - Trinity Wells
Paul Kasey - Ood Sigma
Ruari Mears - Elder Ood
Silas Carson - voice of Ood Sigma
Brian Cox - voice of Elder Ood
Nicholas Briggs - voice of Judoon

[BlogtorWho]

Caprica:

This Battlestar Galactica prequel just cast another actor to play William Adama — no, not the future Admiral, but his grandfather. Aleks Paunovic will play the father of Joseph Adama and grandfather to little Willie in some flashback scenes, and he'll be a recurring character. Paunovic already appeared on BSG, playing Sgt. Fischer. [Aleks Paunovic via Battlestar Blog]

Lost:

A deserted area of Hawaiian rainforest hides a new camp which has been set up for this show's sixth season. It doesn't look like much, though. More pics at the link. [SpoilersLost]

Another new set — a ship of some sort, or rather part of one. It's apparently designed so they can rock the deck back and forth and make it look like the ship is caught up in a huge storm. And considering that some prisoner types were hanging around in baggy brown clothes, it may be the Black Rock. More pics at the link. [SpoilersLost]

Jose Yenque tweeted that he's joining the cast of this show. [Twitter via SpoilersLost]

Also, Fionnula Flanagan told an Irish talk show she'll be back for two episodes as Eloise Hawking, not surprisingly. [SpoilersLost]

Fringe:

The cast reveals the names of the Observers, and discusses their significance. [Fringe Television]

Meanwhile, I'm hard-pressed to tell exactly what's going on in this new set video. I think Anna Torv is being blown across a parking lot by some mysterious force, but hard to say. There are seven more videos from the same person under this YouTube account. I do like one commenter who says the intrepid fan making these recordings should shave his/her head and wear a fedora. [Anon120409 on Youtube]

And here's a sneak peek and "scenemaker" for Thursday's new Walter-and-William episode. [FringeRus]

Supernatural:

The show is casting one of the Four Horsemen for the episode "My Bloody Valentine:

[FAMINE] 50 to 80 years old... He is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He is withered, weak, raspy. This character is a creepy and destructive old man filled with a voracious hunger...GUEST STAR

[CUPID] 30s to 40s, doughy, out of shape, naked, his humorously loving character greets everyone with enormous bear hugs that almost break their ribs. He is overflowing with love and positivity to an almost humorous and narcotic degree (think Will Farrell in "ELF" sptv050769)...GUEST STAR

[SpoilerTV]

Also, Julie McNiven says that when Anna goes back in time and tries to kill baby Sam in episode 13, it's for the best reasons:

Everything Anna does is motivated by wanting to do the right thing, wanting to do what she feels is going to keep this apocalypse from happening. I see Anna as always doing what she thinks is right and she's very strong about that and doesn't want to hear anything otherwise.

And she says there's some great hand-to-hand combat and throwdowns in the episode, and hints that Anna does actually survive to try and kill more babies in the future. [AOL]

The Survivors:

There will be a "high octane" second series of this British remake at some point, but no date yet. And here's what happens:

The series picks up moments after the thrilling cliff-hanger to the first series and the survivors are now struggling not just with the difficulties of day-to-day life amidst the ruins of the post-virus apocalypse but also with the threat of other emerging communities and the machinations of the sinister Lab.

As the series begins, Abby is being held by Whittaker and Fiona at the Lab. There, she learns that the scientists have avoided infection and are looking desperately for a vaccine which they believe her unique immune system alone will generate.

Meanwhile, the family races to save Greg's life as he lies dying from a gunshot wound. Drawn into a burning hospital by their search for the necessary medical equipment, Al and Anya are caught in an avalanche of rubble as the building collapses around them. Tom is faced with the stark challenge of rescuing his friends from a seemingly insurmountable disaster, with only Sarah and Naj to help him.

Characters returning for this high-octane second series are Abby, a devoted mother with a missing son; Greg, a loner, hiding the pain of his past; Anya, a doctor who has seen too much; Al, a playboy who becomes a surrogate father to the young and headstrong Najid; Sarah, a hedonist used to getting her own way; Tom Price, handsome, dangerous and a high-security prisoner before the virus hit; and Samantha Willis, the last surviving member of the British Government.

[Survivors BBC TV]

V:

So just who are the Visitors? Laura Vandervoort explains that they're basically Canadians. Also, she says her character is definitely somewhat evil, but she's not sure how much yet. [Multipleverses]

FlashForward:

Apparently the reason why the show took a week off was simple: Major, huge developments happen in the episodes that were going to be episodes 15 and 16, and the network looked at those scripts and decided they should be episodes 13 and 14 instead (so, less treading water.) And it's not clear whether the original episodes 13 and 14 were scrapped, or just retooled to appear later in the season. Also, the biggest reveals of the season happen in the next two episodes, 11 and 12, says David S. Goyer. [EW]

Chuck:

Episode 3x11 will be "Chuck Vs. The Final Exam." [ChuckTV]

And one more new promo reveals that we'll be seeing a "Whole New Chuck." He's a reluctant spy no longer.

Sanctuary:

In next week's episode, "Penance," Michael Shanks guest stars as an abnormal named Jimmy who has a special David Cronenberg-esque pouch in his stomach, which he can use to smuggle things for the Sanctuary — including, in this case, a dangerous abnormal. Some bad guys get involved, and he's forced to go on the run with Kate, leading to a big secret for the two of them being revealed. And then in the following week's "Sleepers," Will and Magnus are in Mexico looking into some missing teenagers, and they run into vampire Nikoka Tesla, who's up to no good. [Sci Fi Wire]

Additiional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Around 2.1 million viewers watched Friday's double bill according to early reports, matching the series low and coming in last in its regular timeslot, behind a Muppet Christmas Special re-run and the soon-to-be-moved-to-Wednesdays Ugly Betty (It beat a Smallville rerun on the CW from 8-9pm, however; it was only last from 9-10pm).

Considering many were expecting some kind of ratings bump from the Summer Glau guestshot, we're wondering: Was there a Glau bump that offset what would, otherwise, have been another drop, or did the month-gap between episodes and cancellation announcement kill any potential enthusiasm in the show? As both FlashForward and V go off the air until March amid rumors of low ratings, ABC may want to think about that last option and think about ways to remind people about both shows during their three month-long breaks.

Theoretically, "A561984" should've left us hooked and unable to wait for the next episode of the show - which has now been pushed to March from its original January return, following production on the series being stopped by ABC - but instead, it left us frustrated at the characters and bored of the show's mysteries already. With audiences leaving the show in worrying numbers, it's a safe bet to say that we're not the only ones. But why?

Who Are These People?
While Lost may ultimately be about the mythology of the show (What is the Island? Who is Jacob? Why are these people seemingly destined to be connected to the Island? etc.), the show became a success because of the strength of its characters, and character interaction. Lost is full of great characters, whether it's Ben or Locke, Sawyer or Daniel or Juliet... and FlashForward has... uhhh... well, Mark Benford, the alcoholic FBI agent who apparently thinks so little before he acts that it's a surprise that he's made it this far in his career without being fired multiple times already. And Olivia, his wife, who's a good surgeon and... doesn't really seem to have any other character traits apart from getting exasperated at her husband. Or there's Bryce, who was suicidal but then found love and so now he's fine, apparently. Or Lloyd, who's a good man who loves his son, and... well, that's about it. All of the characters in the show seem like shorthand as opposed to people we can empathize and believe in; the only time someone steps outside of their one-line description, it's to serve a plot twist that may be shocking but doesn't stand up to analysis (See Gough's suicide in "The Gift": Where did that come from, given what we'd seen of him before?). Which reminds me...

What Is This All About?
Even without strong characters, a good plot can still suck you in. But FlashForward doesn't have a good plot, or even a particularly linear one. Instead, it's all over the place, mixing in terrorist threats with Blackwater-esque corporate conspiracy theories, star-crossed lovers and medical dramas, murder mysteries and soap operatics about marriages and alcoholic fathers relating to their long-lost daughters... everything except the science fiction behind the FlashForward, which has become the McGuffin that gets lip service every now and again. In fact, there's so much everything that the show feels not just unfocused, but incoherent. What's FlashForward actually about? Ten episodes in, I'm not sure that I really know anymore. And that's a pretty big problem.

Why Should I Care?
"The Gift," where FBI agent Al Gough kills himself and therefore proves that not all of the FlashForwards are going to come true, may have been one of the series' most talked-about episodes so far, but it's also the one that broke the show. If we know that the FlashForwards can be avoided, then the tension of the "fated" events is lost: Mark doesn't want to start drinking again? He doesn't have to. Olivia doesn't want to cheat on her husband? She doesn't have to. It breaks the engine of the show, the inevitability that the characters should be fighting against, and makes every fulfillment of every bad thing that happens into a failure of the characters' inner strength. Who wants to watch that?

(I would've loved it if we'd seen that Gough's suicide ended up being the event that caused the death of the woman he was trying to save anyway, thereby proving that the events will happen nonetheless - We know, on some level, that not everything foreseen will happen, because it's extremely unlikely that Mark will kill Demetri, but the "You can avoid fate!" card should've been saved until later, so we'd spend more time believing that he would.)

FlashForward is its own worst enemy; it's a show that has an interesting central concept, but has little idea what to do with it, meaning that it tries to be multiple shows at once, contradicts its own mythology (The future will happen as seen in the FlashForwards except when it doesn't, apparently?) and because of that, seems like a show that has no identity or purpose. Somewhere in the jumble of everything we've seen so far is a good show; it'd be nice if, in the second half of the season, they can find it.

The Avengers

Jeremy Renner, who might be playing Hawkeye, says we won't be seeing a traditional version of the archer's costume:

"It's going to be modernized, it's not going to be the guy with the big purple [mask], it's not going to be a guy in tights. It's going to be a guy in sunglasses and a vest. He's going to be more modernized and I'm gonna say 'a cooler-looking version' and not the big weird costume he had on. I don't think they're going that route."

[IGN]

Avatar

The latest round of TV spots focus largely on the action scenes:

But one spot looks a bit more at Sully's journey:

And a bizarre NFL promotion where commentator Terry Bradshaw is inserted into a scene with the Thanator:

[via Trailer Addict]

And new images give us more Sully and Neytiri, plus Grace (in both her human and Avatar forms) and the Thanator. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Harry Potter

The first image from Harry Potter is far from fantastical, but Ron's looking a little worse for wear. [Cinema Blend]

Frankenweenie

Casting is underway for the remake of Tim Burton's short film, and it sounds like we'll see a slew of children turning animals into undead critters:

[EDGAR] A Caucasian Male 8-11 years old. Edgar is a needy little kid who wants desperately to be accepted by the cool kids in his class. Naturally a little nerdy, he gravitates to Victor and basically annoys him until he agrees to let him be his lab partner. He is more than a little gullible and is easily tricked into giving away Victor's precious secret and unwittingly starting the whole mess with the other monsters.

[TOSHIAKI] A Japanese Male 8-11 years old. Toshiaki is the natural leader of the cool kids in Victor's class. He is a good athlete, and an avid little league baseball player but Toshiaki has a mischievous side. He is the one that ultimately manipulates E into giving up the secret of Sparky and it is his idea to turn the other animals into monsters. He is Japanese and his monster creation is a little Godzilla lizard.

[BOB] A Caucasian Male 8-11 years old. Bob is the dumb, jockey kid. He has more brawn than brains. He follows Toshiaki and Nassor around even when it means that he has to be the one to test the home made jet pack that Toshiaki has created.

[NASSOR] A Middle-Eastern Male 8-11 years old. Nassor is the star of the little league team and just goes along with Toshiak's plan. He is a bit more serious than the others but still doesn't see the impending chaos when he chooses to bring his hamster mummy back to life.

[WEIRD GIRL] A Caucasian Female 8-11 years old. She has a very dark and ominous take on even the most mundane occurrences and jumps at the chance to bring some dead animals back to life.

[ELSA] A Caucasian Female 8-11 years old. Elsa is a sweet girl who likes to follow the rules and not cause too much trouble. A bit of a "goody two shoes," she is not afraid to speak up and even corrects the teacher when he makes a mistake. She is excited about the festivities planned for the town's Dutch Day parade and even has a solo dance number in the show.

[Bloody Disgusting]

Lost

We've been hearing that Claire would be in the final season, and actress Emilie de Ravin was spotted in Burbank reshooting a scene from the season premiere with Evangeline Lilly, and one of the actresses had a telltale baby bump. Is it a scene from the days when Claire was pregnant with Aaron, or is Kate working on her own baby? (Remember that we already reported on some season premiere filming a while back, in which Claire was pregnant because Flight 815 had just landed.) [E!]

There's also a fresh casting call for the tenth episode:

[DESK CLERK] Male.. 30s, any ethnicity. Loves his job and is usually on top of things. When he's made a mistake, he's quick to accept it and resolve it satisfactorily. CO-STAR.

[KENDALL] Female..30s, any ethnicity. Attractive and professional. Good at her job and does not cut any corners. CO-STAR.

[CUSTOMS OFFICIAL] Male.. 50s, any ethnicity. Pot-bellied, efficient bureaucrat inured to travelers' pains and frustrations. Suspects people are always trying to get something past him. CO-STAR.

[DarkUFO]

Dollhouse

As Dollhouse burns off its remaining episodes, we see the return of Alpha and the end of Victor's contract. Here is the official synopsis for December 11th's double episode "Meet Jane Doe" and "A Love Supreme:"

In the aftermath of her entanglements at the D.C. Dollhouse, Echo finds herself out in the world struggling to keep her multiple personalities under control. Adelle finds her grip on the house challenged by Harding, and Boyd receives a mysterious phone call. Meanwhile, when Echo's past romantic engagements are murdered, suspicion falls on Alpha, whose return leaves one member of the house permanently mind-wiped.

And here's the synopsis for the following week's episodes "Stop-Loss" and the ominously titled "The Attic:"

As his contract with the Dollhouse expires, Victor is released back into the world, where his military past threatens his future with Sierra. Meanwhile, Echo is deemed too dangerous and is sent into her worst nightmare.

[Spoiler TV, Spoiler TV]

Doctor Who:

You may already have heard that Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) is the companion in "The End Of Time," and David Tennant elaborates:

Although Catherine Tate is back and Donna is a big part of that story, really, the companion is Bernard Cribbins, the first time the doctor has had an 80-year-old man as his sidekick, really. So it's been great to get to play these different facets of the character, I suppose. And the doctor himself is also slightly on the run from himself and on the run from the inevitable. So he's trying not to get too close to anyone. So it's important that there's a kind of revolving door of confidence for him. But getting to see Bernard Cribbins as well in that final story is so brilliant and moving, and he's just such a great actor that that was a great finish to the story for me. What you get is these wonderful scenes of these two old men. The doctor is a lot older than Wilf, and yet the two of them get to sit down and discuss life in a way that we've never seen the doctor be able to do before.

[Crave Online]

Fringe

Here's another, longer synopsis for December 10th's "Grey Matters:"

A Fringe investigation is triggered when a patient at a mental institution undergoes an impromptu brain surgery that unexpectedly leaves his brain exposed. Despite the unthinkable circumstances, the patient's condition and sanity miraculously improves before the Fringe team arrives. While Agent Dunham and Peter scan surveillance tapes (and Walter enjoys his pudding), Olivia recognizes a familiar face as Thomas Jerome Newton (guest star Sebastian Roche), the leader of the "shape-shifters." As similar cases stack up, the Fringe team heads back to the lab to determine exactly how patients are being cured. Walter's brains are put to the test and William Bell (guest star Leonard Nimoy) resurfaces.

[Fringe Spoilers]

And in images from the episode, Peter inspects a woman in a mental institution. What is he looking for in there? [Fringe Spoilers]

FlashForward

The cast reveals a whole mess of spoilers to untangle. This week, we'll find out what Simon knows about the flashforward (he also knows something about the crow die-offs in Somalia). We'll also get a crucial bit of information about Demetri's future murder, something that will radically alter our perspective of his future.

Looking farther into the future, Mark will get the chance to revisit his flashforward, and we'll get a clearer picture of his two minutes and 17 seconds. There may also be a reason Mark drinks aside from (and potentially more interesting than) his love triangle with Olivia and Lloyd. Plus, we will start to see an explanation of the "Red Panda Resources" mentioned on Mark's bulletin board, and we'll revisit the stadium where someone was seen walking around during the global blackout more than once in the season's remaining episodes.

The writers have a few ideas as to who impregnated Janis Hawk, but they're currently debating it among themselves. [TV Guide]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Green Lantern:

Like last year's Iron Man movie, we'll get a sense of why Hal is in the Green Lantern costume, not just what the costume is, and the most interesting scenes will involve Hal out of his costume. Also, this won't be a traditional origin story, that labors over setting up the character, says Ryan Reynolds:

It is [an origin story] to a certain degree, but it's not a labored origin story, where the movie [truly] begins in the third act. The movie starts when it starts. We find out Hal is the guy fairly early on, and the adventure begins.

[MTV via Cinemablend]

Jonah Hex:

Here's a new synopsis for this fantastical cowboy movie, releasing next June:

Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a scarred drifter and bounty hunter of last resort, a tough and stoic gunslinger who can track down anyone…and anything. Having survived death, Jonah's violent history is steeped in myth and legend, and has left him with one foot in the natural world and one on the "other side." His only human connection is with Leila (Megan Fox), whose life in a brothel has left her with scars of her own. But Jonah's past is about to catch up with him when the U.S. military makes him an offer he can't refuse: in exchange for his freedom from the warrants on his head, he must track down and stop the dangerous terrorist Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich). But Turnbull, who is gathering an army and preparing to unleash Hell, is also Jonah's oldest enemy and will stop at nothing until Jonah is dead. Based on the legendary graphic novel, "Jonah Hex" is an epic adventure thriller about one man's personal quest for redemption against the vast canvas of the battle between good and evil.

[CinemaBlend]

Doctor Who:

Fans are speculating based on watching the filming that Rory (Arthur Darvill) will be traveling in the TARDIS, and will turn up in episodes 1, 6, 8, and 9. Possibly, he joins the TARDIS crew after Amy meets River Song and finds out about the great future that River and the Doctor share. And apparently "The End Of Time" features Sinead Keenan as Addams, one of the mysterious shape-shifting Vinvocci.

And the fans have come up with this somewhat speculative list of the season's episodes, with writers and directors:

1. "The Eleventh Hour" (w: Steven Moffat, d: Adam Smith)
2. "TBA" (w: Moffat, d: Adam Gunn)
3. "TBA" (w: Mark Gatiss, d: Adam Gunn)
4/5 "The Time Of Angels"/"The Flesh And Stone" (w: Moffat, d: Smith)
6. "Vampires Of Venice" (w: Toby Whithouse, d: Jonny Campbell)
7. "TBA" (w: Gareth Roberts or Amanda Coe, d: ?)
8/9. "TBA"/"Cold Blood" (w: Chris Chibnall, d: Ashley Way)
10. "Vincent And The Doctor (working title?)" (w: Richard Curtis, d: Jonny Campbell)
11. "TBA" (w: Gareth Roberts, d: ?)
12/13. "TBA" (w: Moffat, d: ?)
14. Christmas special (w: Moffat, d: ?)

[GallifreyBase and GallifreyBase]

And here are a couple of new photos (which aren't particularly startling) from "The End Of Time Part 1". [Den Of Geek]

Dollhouse:

The show is casting its last ever episode — unless you all convince every Nielsen family you know to tune in on Friday! — and we'll meet a new Active, named Romeo. He's a big bruiser with a shaved head and tattoos — which you might think would limit his versatility. He can be programmed to be anything — as long as it involves having lots of tattoos. [E! Online]

Fringe:

Don't let the mentions of Kirk Acevedo in press releases for upcoming episodes fool you. Acevedo is gone, and won't be coming back. [E! Online]

In episode 2x15, we'll meet Carla, a "smart, interesting, quirky" scientist in her late 20s or early 30s. [SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

Dominic Monaghan was on KTLA talking about what's next for his character on this show. [SpoilerTV]

And because the U.S. is now behind Australia on this show, here's the promo for next week's episode, "Buddha In The Ruins":

And also because of that fact, here are some details about Thursday's episode, "A561984." The mystery lady who's called about Demetri's murder looks over some newspaper articles, and then Demetri and Mark go after her, and it ends in a gunfight. Lloyd makes a statement to the public which ends up with a gun shooting at him. Simon goes to the FBI and looks at the towers, saying they are his towers — but he designed them in 1992 and they were created in 1991. Mark loses his job. The mystery of Demetri's wedding is explained. D. Gibbons is revealed — and turns out to be linked to someone we know. Lloyd and Olivia seem to be getting along, and the episode ends with a Lloyd/Olivia cliffhanger. [The ODI]

True Blood:

Prison Break's Marshall Allman is joining the cast as Tommy Mickens, Sam Merlotte's long lost brother who works at a Tire Depot in Arkansas. [Hollywood Reporter]

And in the season's second episode, we'll meet two more members of the Mickens clan, the fiftysomething Melinda Mickens and her husband Joe Lee. Plus Crystal Norris, a barefoot sundress-wearing woman who shares an electric connection with Jacob before vanishing into the forest. And Ruby Jean Reynolds, a homophobic African American woman being cared for in a private facility; a German werewolf seen in a World War II flashback; Calvin Norris, a rugged, bare-chested man who's upset when the police search his trailer; and Shane And Kris, two hillbillies who disrespect the dead — and when Shane won't apologize, Tara beats him up. Plus a biker/werewolf who menaces Sookie. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

And in case you didn't already know this, the CW is still hot to trot to get a tenth season of this "wake me when he's Superman" show. [E! Online]

And just in case we didn't already share them, here are a couple new pics of JSA members Stargirl and Dr. Fate, plus a higher-res pic of Hawkman. [OSCK]

Heroes:

Here are some new season four promo pics. [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Monday

It's the usual Monday evening decision between Fox's House, wherein the West Wing's Joshua Malina guests as a former patient of Wilson's who's now a little bit too close to dying for everyone's comfort, and NBC's Heroes, which promises an "unexpected destination" for Claire and Peter, who are struggling to come to terms with the truth. Both of them air at 8pm, so feel free to choose House and read our Heroes recap, instead. You know it'll be easier on everyone.

Tuesday

Prophets of Science Fiction on the Science Channel at 9pm is about it, now that V has slunk its way off-screen for a few months (And am I the only person who spent the last episode waiting for a big lizard reveal, only to be thwarted? They even talked about skinning an alien just to tease us, the bastards). But in many ways, this documentary about science fiction creators whose work predicted the future is likely to be less frustrating than ABC's alien drama, even if it may not be more entertaining.

Wednesday

While Mythbusters carries on Kari-less on Discovery at 9pm (Adam and Jamie look into whether you can escape from jail using antacids, while I continue to unfairly criticize newgirl Jessi Combs purely because of my love for the missing Ms. Byron), ABC's Eastwick begins to draw to a conclusion with new episode "Tasers and Mind Erasers."

Thursday

With the CW shows on reruns, your evening viewing is wide open for a helping of Flashforward at 8 pm on ABC and Fringe at 9 on Fox. This week's FF promises to reveal more about Demetri's future death, Zoey's flashforward and, most excitingly, what actually caused the flashforward itself. Meanwhile, Fringe gets out the Lovecraftian influence as "Snakehead" reveals a spooky squidlike creature burrowing into host bodies. Calamari will never be the same again.

Friday

If new episodes of Ghost Whisperer and Medium on CBS (at 8pm and 9, respectively) or Stargate Universe and Sanctuary on Syfy (at 9pm and 10, respectively) don't float your boat — Although, SGU sees Young handing over command of the Destiny to Camille when he's accused of murder aboard the ship, so maybe you should tune into that just in case — then there's only one thing that could take your attention (Well, beside Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network at 9).

And that's the return of Dollhouse, with two new episodes starting on Fox at 8pm. "The Public Eye/The Left Hand" sees Senator Wesley From Angel finally stop talking and start doing something in his so-far-useless campaign against the Dollhouse, while Topher and Adelle meet a programmer with a connection to Echo and - Oh, never mind. All you want to know is this: It's the episode with Summer Glau. See? Now you'll tune in.

Saturday

NBC is showing the best Fantastic Four movie ever made, The Incredibles at 8:30pm. I'm sure most of you already own it on DVD though, right?

Sunday

Sure, Sunday night still belongs to The Venture Bros (a new episode is on Cartoon Network at midnight), but we're still kind of tempted by Syfy's Alice revival, from the people who brought you Tin Man. Bringing the story up to date and adding in various contemporary re-readings of famous scenes, there's always the possibility of things going totally wrong and it turning out to be another Prisoner, but we have hope nonetheless...

Avatar:

Did you know Warehouse 13/The Shield's CCH Pounder was in this movie? I didn't, until I was looking at the film's imdb page. I was curious, so I dug up this interview with her from April 2007, in which she explains:

I'm playing Moha and she is the queen of the Na'Vi nation, and so it's an environmental love adventure in another time and space.

I'm glad the Na'Vi have some solid leadership. Maybe this is the answer to who's really running the warehouse? [IGN]

Doctor Who:

You may have noticed Timothy Dalton narrating the recent trailers for David Tennant's final two-parter, "The End Of Time." And apparently this is apt, because he plays a character called The Narrator, who may or may not be a villain. (But that doesn't the earlier reports of him playing a Time Lord are untrue — note that he's wearing a Time Lord robe in the one photo we've seen of him so far.) So the Doctor and the Master meet... the Narrator? Okay. [Scotsman]

Also, according to the Radio Times preview, we'll be seeing a more desperate incarnation of the Master this time around. John Simm describes his newest portrayal as "emo Master." (Oh dear.) He's sporting punk-white hair under a hoodie and looking lost, while flashing in and out of "skeleton mode." This is a Master "who's lived and died, and now lives again — although he's seen healthier days," explains Simm. "He's desperate, and desperate means dangerous." Both he and the Doctor want to survive, but they're both heading for death. And here are some scans. [PlanetGallifrey and BlogtorWho]

Lost:

It sounds like episode 6x08 will be all about the mysterious Richard Alpert, and will be called "Ab Aeterno," (or "from eternity.") It's filming now, and it seems like a big chunk of it has to do with the Black Rock, that crashed British trading ship. Supposed inside sources say that the show will be filming a ton of Black Rock scenes using a greenscreen in the studio on Monday. (As always, take any reports that claim to be based on unnamed "inside sources" with a pinch of salt.)

According to these sources (some of whom are posting in the comments over at DarkUFO, but have apparently been authenticated somehow according to the site's owner) Richard Alpert arrives on the Black Rock, and he sails on that ship after his wife dies. And we discover that Alpert really is immortal. Besides Alpert, the crew of the Black Rock includes Father Suarez and Captain Whitfield. And after Alpert arrives on the island, he meets the Man In Black, who was last seen playing with Jacob in the season finale. Also present when the Black Rock crashes: the smoke monster.

There's also a rumor (which apparently is less well authenticated) that some of the castaways from Flight 815 turn up on the Black Rock, although it's not clear whether this happens in the present or back in the 19th century. And one of those supposed inside sources is saying there'll be some developments which make the Kate/Sawyer relationship less likely. [SpoilersLost]

Spanish channel Quatro aired a new trailer for season six as well as a lengthy segment where they visited the set and interviewed many of the stars. [SL-Lost]

Also, there are more photos of the hole in the ground that's supposed to be Locke's grave. It looks just like a hole in the ground, really. [The ODI]

The Lovely Bones:

Here's a TV spot for this Peter Jackson film that I don't think we've shown you before:

Daybreakers:

And there's a pretty neat TV spot for this vampire dystopia movie too. [Cinemablend]

The Wolfman:

Here are three new international posters. [Empire Online]

True Blood:

Ugly Betty's Grant Bowler is joining the cast, but he won't say what role he's playing. [Daily Telegraph via True-Blood]

Fringe:

Here's the official description for the Dec. 10 episode, "Grey Matters":

During the investigation of strange circumstances surrounding brain surgeries at a mental hospital, Olivia finds a reason to believe the leader of the shape-shifters may have something to do with it. Leonard Nimoy guest stars as William Bell

[TV Guide]

Stargate Universe:

Here are some promo pics for episode 10, "Justice." [SpoilerTV]

Chuck:

One more promo showing you a checklist of cool spy items:

FlashForward:

In episode 14, we'll be meeting two more FBI agents: Special Agent Buckner, who's backslappy but has a serious dark side, and Agent Danforth Crowley, who's a family man with a patriotic streak. Plus alpha-male businessman Corey Liebman, and Caitlynn, a little girl who screams when her bithday party is disrupted. [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Thor and The Avengers

Someone posted a ton of rumors about the plot of these upcoming Marvel movies. Thor apparently starts with six warriors in Asgard: Thor, Loki, the Warriors Three and Sif. Loki, Odin's adopted son, usurps the throne and Thor is cast down to Earth. Thor crashlands in the desert, where he's run over by a PhD cosmology student (Natalie Portman) and her Norwegian professor (Stellan Skarsgard), who are driving out to study a strange cloud in the cosmos through a telescope.

When they realize that Thor really is the Norse thunder god, Skarsgard, who grew up with Norse mythology, can't deal with it and he goes on a drinking binge.

The screenplay ends with a five-page battle, showcasing Thor's and Loki's contrasting fighting styles — Thor is all about raw power, but Loki is all about the fluid grace and slipperiness. And the closing battle is the first thing they'll film.

But Loki survives the end of that movie, to become either the main villain in The Avengers, or one of the main villains. The Avengers opens with twenty minutes of Loki mind-controlling Bruce Banner and sending the Hulk on a murderous rampage, thus causing Captain America, Iron Man and Thor to come together.

Bear in mind, these are Internet rumors, so the usual wheelbarrow full of salt is indicated. [Comic Book Movie Fansites]

Elsewhere, fresh off being unspeakably awesome in The Hurt Locker, Jeremy Renner is apparently in serious talks to play Hawkeye in both Thor and The Avengers. Apparently he would cameo in two movies before The Avengers, and then have a proper role in that one. Considering Iron Man 2 has almost finished production, that would likely mean appearances in Thor and Captain America. [Slashfilm]

Lost:

EW.com has a status report on the show's final season. The first episode is definitely "LA X" and the key question fans should ask heading into the season is whether Juliet succeeded in changing history, pointing to that famous continuity-rewriting Oceanic Airlines safety video from ComicCon as a key clue. The article confirms Claire is coming back for a big arc, after haunting Kate's dreams and hanging out in Jacob's shack, while Charlie, Boone, and Charlotte will all be putting in somewhat inexplicable reappearances. Juliet is indeed dead, but that doesn't mean Elizabeth Mitchell won't come back in some capacity, and in fact she's set to return at least twice.

Richard Alpert is now a regular, although Desmond Hume isn't. Still, we'll probably see some more of him, too. New faces this season include Hiroyuki Sanada, a Japanese actor best known stateside for his work in Speed Racer, as Dogen, John Hawkes of Deadwood as Lennon, along with Sheila Kelley and William Atherton. [EW.com]

Here's another Twitter-based filming update:

Lost film production on North Shore of Oahu near Turtle Bay beach scene with Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Matthew Fox (Jack) & Terry O'Quinn (John Locke) filming on Tue, 11/24/09 & Wed, 11/25/09

[DarkUFO]

The title of episode 6.9 will be "Ab Aeterno." [Lyly Ford]

Caprica:

Sci Fi Wire has a preview of one of the five behind-the-scenes videos SyFy is releasing over the next couple of days to promote Caprica. In this one, Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz discuss the complex relationship their two characters share: [Sci Fi Wire]

Chuck:

NBC has released a couple more promos for the upcoming season of Chuck:

[ChuckTV.net]

FlashForward:

Here are five sneak peeks for the upcoming tenth episode "A561984", set to air on December 3: [FlashForward.PL]

V:

Robert Englund of Nightmare on Elm Street fame revealed he might make a cameo appearance in an upcoming episode. Englund played the good-hearted alien Willie in the original 1983 miniseries. [HeyUGuys]

Stargate Universe:

A press release is out with more details of "Justice", the tenth and final episode of this half of the show's first season:

Everyone is shocked when a member of the crew is found dead from a gunshot wound. While at first glance it appears to be suicide, the gun is nowhere to be found. The crew is confined to quarters while a search is performed and when the gun shows up in Col. Young's (LOUIS FERREIRA) quarters, he becomes the number one suspect. Fearing a mob scene, Young agrees to a trial and cedes command to Camile Wray (MING-NA).

Dr. Rush (ROBERT CARLYLE) convinces Wray to give him control of the science team and carte blanche with the new Ancient interface, previously kept under guard. But before Rush can unlock its secret, or Young's trial can conclude, both are needed to explore a planet hiding a secret that threatens the Destiny and her crew.

The episode is set to air December 4. [Spoiler TV]

Wolfman:

Two more new international posters have been released: [Shock Till You Drop]

Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders.

Thor

Although initial speculation had Kat Dennings playing the Enchantress, some folks think it's more likely that she'll be playing college student Marcy Lewis based on the previously mentioned casting call:

[MARCY LEWIS] (20) Is a college student. Aloof, jaded beyond her years, she thought her internship with scientist Kate Spelling would be an easy 6 college credits. However, she's been stuck for months in this small New Mexico town and relegated to a wide range of unglamorous activities. Kate has been particularly hard on Marcy, making it her personal project to see that Marcy lives up to her potential. Marcy deals with her situation both by using subtle irony and by being an overt wiseass.

After all, Dennings is known for playing overt wiseasses. [Cinema Blend]

Iron Man

The latest issue of Empire Magazine has our hero on the cover. It looks like the new Iron Man is essentially the same as the old Iron Man. [via Cinema Blend]

Avatar

We get another good look at Pandora in CNN's feature on the film. [CNN]

And, in case you didn't get enough of him on 60 Minutes, CNN does an interview with James Cameron. [CNN]

Zoë Saldana says that to prepare for the role of Neytiri, she had to study wushu, a Shaolin kung fu that bases its stances on wild animals. [Details]

The Wolfman

The latest behind-the-scenes featurette plays on our nostalgia for old Universal horror flicks. [via Cinema Blend]

The Hobbit

Peter Jackson says that the studio has seen the first script for Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit, and they're happy with what they've seen so far. [/Film]

Zombieland 2

Sony is very interested in making a sequel to the hit zombie comedy, and it looks like we'll see it in 3D, with zombies, weapons, and teeth flying around the screen. [Cinema Blend]

The Lovely Bones

Two new clips from Peter Jackson's heavenly movie introduce us to the soon-to-be-murdered Susie Salmon and the man who kills her. [via Collider]

Doctor Who

The TV magazines take a quick look at David Tennant's last episode. [Blogtor Who]

More significantly, we get a fresh image from "The End of Time." Is this one of Tennant's final scenes with the TARDIS? And notice the book Tennant is holding — Finding The Future by Joshua Naismith. You might recall the bus in "Planet Of The Dead" had ads that mentioned Naismith's telecommunications company, Neon by Naismith. Naismith turns up as a character in "The End Of Time." [Den of Geek]

Clone Wars

Uh-oh. It looks like that Geonosian zombie infection might be catching. The Galactic Senate has issued the following health warning:

Lost

More confusing comments are emerging about these darned alternate timelines. Although everyone's been seeing tons of spoilers about the timeline where Oceanic 815 lands safely, supposedly something necessary for he alternate timeline to occur doesn't happen. Is that vague enough for you? Also, it's not a coincidence that the season premieres on Groundhog Day. [E!]

Fringe

After February 11th, the producers are apparently going to leave us hanging for a seven-week hiatus. Bah. [E!]

But before that happens, we get a whole mess of interviews from Lance Reddick, Anna Torv, John Noble, Michael Cerveris, and executive producer Jeff Pinkner. [Fringe Television]

V

Morris Chestnut talks a bit about being a human-aligned Visitor and audience feedback.

And Morena Baccarin explains a bit about Anna, and why she's drawn to science fiction projects.

Chuck

We get a four-minute preview of the new season, and witness how Chuck's new Intersect powers can make Sarah swoon. [via Screen Rant]

FlashForward</>

Joseph Fiennes creates a hostage situation in this clip from "A561984."

Heroes

Peter tries to save Nathan in this still from the November 30th episode, "The Fifth Stage." Incidentally, the fifth stage of grief is acceptance. [Spoiler TV]

The season's sixteenth episode is titled "The Art of Deception," and the seventeenth is "The Wall." [Spoiler TV]

Outer Space Astronauts

Syfy's new quasi-animated series premieres December 8th, but you can watch the first episode in its entirety below. [via Cinema Blend]

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder and Charlie Jane Anders.

This news follows both the show's steady fall in the ratings — last week saw the series beaten by Fox's Bones for the first time; overall, FlashForward has lost a third of its audience since its premiere — and co-showrunner Marc Guggenheim leaving staff last month. An ABC spokesman said that the reason for the production halt was because the network wanted "to maintain the high quality of the show, and this gives the writers the opportunity to do so."

This shutdown follows ABC's similar decision for V in August, a halt that grew in length and led to two different replacements of showrunner before the series even premiered. Is FlashForward co-creator and current showrunner David Goyer about to find himself ousted in favor of someone that ABC feels more comfortable taking the show to April 29th 2010?

ABC halts 'FlashForward' [Variety]

Transformers 3:

Megan Fox doesn't die in the third giant robot epic, says Michael Bay, who pooh-poohs the whole "Megan Fox compared Michael Bay to Hitler" thing and says it's all been blown out of proportion. "She's got a great part in Transformers 3," says Bay, who's working on the script now. [USA Today]

Star Trek:

Roberto Orci says he and co-writer Alex Kurtzman are preparing to write the next Trek movie by re-watching the original series — but also by reading classic SF, including works by Arthur C. Clarke. Rendezvous with Rama, anyone? [TrekMovie]

And J.J. Abrams says he's determined to get Greg Grunberg in the next movie — maybe as a red-shirt. [Newsarama]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

A few pictures of Xeno Lovegood have surfaced. [Cinemablend]

Resident Evil 4:

Will Jill Valentine be back? Producer Don Carmody won't say for sure. But he says "It's going to be surprising, and it's going to make people think what's going to happen next."[ShockTillYouDrop]

Lost:

There's been a ton of new filming, for episode 6x08, which appears to be all about Sawyer. There were some scenes involving Sawyer and Charles Widmore, aboard that submarine that we've seen so much of in the past. They went down the hatch and the crew filmed some scenes on board, then filmed them coming out of it together.

And then Sawyer had some scenes with Miles — and it looked like the two were partners in law enforcement. Sawyer had a badge on his belt, Miles had a gun on his hip. Sawyer is sitting in a nondescript Mercury parked outside La Brea Property Management in Pacific Tower. Sawyer beckons to Miles, who tries to blow him off and walk away, but Sawyer yells out and stops him, and then opens the passenger door. So Miles gets in the car, and Sawyer gives him one of two cups of coffee, then shows him a folder full of photographs. Miles looks through them, and then pauses to look at one of them in more detail. (If Sawyer really is a cop, it's odd that they were filming a scene where he "cons" Charlotte earlier.)

And then a woman driving a blue car crashes into Sawyer's cop car, and then the woman gets out and runs away — and it's Kate, wearing a hoodie to hide her face. She runs down an alley, knocking over a pile of boxes. Here's a bit of set video:

And then there's a scene where Sawyer grabs Kate by the collar and pushes her up against a doorway. Here are some set pics. More at the links. [Hawaii Weblog and Hawaii Weblog]

Also, this won't be much of a surprise to those of you who've been paying attention, but Rebecca Mader is indeed back as Charlotte, as a producer confirmed on his Twitter feed. [Sci Fi Wire]

Here's a German promo for season six, which as far as I can tell gives absolutely nothing away.

Doctor Who:

Here's a trailer for the animated adventure "Dreamland," which may actually be watchable in spite of the horrendous CG graphics.

And David Tennant speaks:

Dollhouse:

We have actual descriptions for the next two episodes, featuring Summer Glau:

Part 1 of 2. Echo's assignment: prevent Sen. Daniel Perrin from exposing the Dollhouse secrets. Meanwhile, at the D.C. Dollhouse, Adelle and Topher meet Topher's counterpart (Summer Glau), who has a link to Echo.

Conclusion. Echo and Bennett (Summar Glau) have a shocking reunion; Adelle squares off against the D.C. Dollhouse's leader (Ray Wise); Topher recruits Victor for his espionage; Perrin discovers a surprising witness in his crusade against the Rossum Corporation.

[TV Guide and TV Guide]

Fringe:

Jasika Nicole explains what's coming next for Astrid, on her excursions with Walter. [BuddyTV]

V:

Here are a couple of new videos of the final episode of 2009, tomorrow night's "It's Only The Beginning."

Supernatural:

It's unlikely that Jeffrey Dean Morgan will ever return to this show, but God is much more likely to show up — but not immediately. However, Sera Gamble says she'd "do backflips" if JDM did turn out to be available. Also, Michael will show up even though his vessel, Dean, isn't cooperating — but Michael will only be in "borrowed" bodies, of no consequence or permanence. The show will be "creative" in how it introduces Michael.

Also, in the first episode of January, the Winchesters are contacted by a hunter who worked a case that was so traumatic, he went crazy. He's checked himself into an insane asylum and something is awry there, so he asks the Winchesters to help — so they check in there, too. The episode explores the idea that "You don't have to be crazy to be a hunter, but it helps."

Also, we'll be seeing a lot more of Lucifer — we'll find out how he chose Nick, his current vessel. And we'll understand way more of Michael's perspective. There will be a "dark and twisted" Valentine's Day episode. [E! Online and TV Guide Magazine]

And here's a casting call for episode 14: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid:

[SHERIFF MILLS] In her mid 30s to mid 40s, tough and no-nonsense while on the job, but tender and loving toward her family, she's the Sheriff in a small town, she's calm under pressure even when things turn very personal...please submit all ethnicities...GUEST STAR

[KAREN SINGER] In her late 20s to 30s. Blonde, young and attractive, she's wise, direct, a straight shooter and nobody's fool...GUEST STAR

[SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

Could this show be looking to duplicate The Prisoner or X-Men? A new casting call for episode 13 is looking for a new Number 2:

[PHILLIP] Late 60s. Caucasian, Ian McKellen-esque. A bit eccentric and unrepentantly set in his ways, his intellect is unmatched. Enjoys a good academic tussle...Guest Star

[LORRAINE] – 53, Caucasian, Brenda Blethyn type. British, sassy, working class. A widow and mother of four mostly grown children, she dotes on them when she's not telling them what to do. Must speak with an authentic Manchester accent. Guest star.

[CHRIS] - 30's.. Any Ethnicity. A former radio on-air dj, now working in a dead end job. Concealing a secret to his co-workers, he is ultimately forced to reveal his true identity...Co-Star

[ANDREW] – 22, Caucasian. An athletic, burly, blue-collar blockhead. A typical 20-something guy, he and his brothers like to prank each other. Must speak with a subtle Canadian accent. Co-Star.

[GRAHAM] – 20, Caucasian. An athletic, burly, blue-collar blockhead. A typical 20-something guy, he and his brothers like to prank each other. Must speak with a subtle Canadian accent. Co-Star.

[ANNABELLE] – 14.. Caucasian, Blonde. Sweet, vulnerable, almost ethereal. Fair and slight, she is the baby of the family but her good nature has helped her avoid becoming bratty. Must speak with a subtle Canadian accent. Co-Star/Possible Guest Star. Potentially recurring.

[DAISY - 18, ANY ETHNICITY. A VERY SMART AND CUNNI] - 18, Any Ethnicity. A very smart and cunning young woman who can play mental games with the best of them. If crossed, Daisy has the ability to bring great harm to all those around her. Co-Star.

[SpoilerTV andSpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Some screencaps from the JSA teaser give our first look at Justice Society members Doctor Fate, Sandman... and is that Green Lantern? [Forces Of Geek]

Also, Metallo (Brian Austin Green) will be back in episode 9x18, producers confirm. [TV Guide]

Chuck:

Here's a preview clip where Zachary Levi thanks the fans for watching. [Den Of Geek]

Stargate Universe:

In episode 10, "Justice," a member of the crew is killed, and the murder weapon is found in Col. Young's quarters. He cedes command to Camille Wray. And here's a sneak peek.

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Thor

Idris Elba, whom fans of The Wire know as Stringer Bell, has been cast as Heimdell, the Asgardian who stands guard at BiFrost Bridge, always ready to defend Asgard from intruders. [/Film]

Iron Man 3

We haven't even seen Iron Man 2, but there are already rumors for the third movie. Faran Tahir, who played Raza in the first movie, was asked about the third film and mentioned that Favreau and the producers want to introduce the Mandarin as a villain at some point. Since both Raza and the Mandarin are leaders of the Ten Rings, that affects whether Tahir will return to the franchise. [Moviefone]

Star Trek 2

Karl Urban would like to see his character, Bones McCoy, become more the third part of the Kirk-Spock-Bones triumvirate. He also wants Bones to be a bit preachier:

"I would love to play scenes being essentially Kirk's moral compass or point of conscience. The way McCoy was written he really sort of verbalized the war going on in Kirk's conscience, and I certainly would love to see more arguments of passion versus logic with Spock because they're always fun. So it's going to be really interesting to see what they come up with."

[IGN]

Daybreakers

Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe prepare to take on the vampires (and the vampire virus) in two new stills.

Legion

Shock Till You Drop saw 20 minutes of the angel apocalypse, and they're still a bit on the fence about the film. In one clip, the archangel Michael crashes to Earth, slices off his wings, breaks the halo (as known as the heavenly LoJack system) from his neck. Then he heads off to a gun shop to load up on weapons and ammo. When a pair of cops try to stop him, we get to see the unpleasant effects of angelic possession: the possessed cop goes all twitchy, his eyeballs turn black, and his teeth sharpen. Another clip comes straight out of the trailer, with Gladys, the old lady who quickly transforms from sweet to demonic when she tells Charlie that her "fucking baby is gonna burn," and then starts scuttling across the ceiling. In another scene, the protagonists drive into a storm of flies (the first plague of Egypt), and a group of diner patrons head to the roof to take out a group of possessed folks, including the frosty treats man. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Doctor Who

It's official: the title of the first hour of the Christmas special is The End of Time Part One. No surprise there. [Den of Geek]

Lost

Season six officially has a premiere day: February 2 at 9pm. Lost now airs on Tuesdays. Adjust your DVRs accordingly. Also, Richard Alpert, Miles, Frank Lapidus, and Ilana are now series regulars, and Claire is back full-time. Desmond, however, is not a regulat this season. [E!]

Carlton Cuse confirmed via Twitter that Rebecca Mader who plays Faraday's deceased love Charlotte, has been filming, though he offered no indication of what context we'll be seeing Charlotte in. [Cinema Blend]

However, a source at Dark UFO claims to have the scoop on Charlotte's reappearance. Sawyer is trying to run his usual con on Charlotte, knowing that she has been to the island. However, Charlotte catches on to Sawyer's act and calls him out on it. Sawyer tells her everything: that she knows she was raised on the island and that everything connects back to Charles Widmore. He says he wants "on the boat," but Sawyer isn't acting alone; a man he talks to on the phone gives him instructions and seems to be in charge. Throughout their conversation, Charlotte keeps looking toward an Asian man, something Sawyer notices. Apparently, there is a fight scene in a different location involving Sawyer and the Asian man. [Dark UFO]

Michael Emerson described the final season as "very dark and bloody," and said of the episodes:

"I thought I would be able to see the ending that was coming, but I can't," he says of the series finale. "It's still so opaque."

As for Ben himself, Emerson said we will see Ben at his manipulative best, and that he will surprise the audience. [Starbulletin]

At yet another Lost shoot, fans spotted Sawyer and Charles Widmore filming a scene at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum in Pearl Harbor. Is someone planning an underwater voyage, or is Widmore the one pulling Sawyer's strings? [Hawaii Blog]

Fringe

John Noble says that there have been discussions about Walter meeting his alternate self toward the end of the season. [Korbi TV]

Anna Torv also talks about what's in store for Olivia's family and her love life. [Korbi TV]

Chuck

The new season premieres Sunday, January 10th, with two back-to-back episodes. A third episode will air during its regular timeslot on Monday, January 11th, at 8/7c. Here's a promo to that effect, plus a new clip:

And here's the Season Three poster:

[Chuck TV]

V

Morena Baccarin talks about Anna and Chad's evolving relationship, and what happens when one of the Visitors is murdered. [Spoiler TV]

And we get a promo for the year's last episode, Tuesday's "It's Only the Beginning."

Heroes

A two-hour "event" airs Monday, January 4th, a 8pm EST; after that, the show's regular time slot will be Mondays at 9pm. [Spoiler TV]

FlashForward

The actors ask their questions about the show's mysteries, and manage to get some answers. [Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder.

Avatar

The latest still shows off the patterns Neytiri's glowing freckles take on. [/Film]

Kick-Ass

French Premiere talked to director Matthew Vaughn about the film and matched up his comments with the film's trailer. [via /Film]

The Wolfman

The French one-sheet gives an ominous shot of our werewolf's cane. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Two new editors have been brought onto the project. Dennis Virkler has been let go and Mark Goldblatt and Walter Murch have been brought on in his stead. Goldblatt was the editor on the first two Terminator films, Starship Trooper, and Armageddon, among others, and Murch has worked on Apocalypse Now, Ghost, and The Talented Mr. Ripley. [/Film]

Doctor Who

Russell T. Davies hinted that the Ood and their preternatural understanding that the Tenth Doctor's journey is coming to an end are very important. And he says that "You'd think something is bleeding, coming through from the other side." Some have suggested this indicates some sort of parallel universe. [Planet Gallifrey]

Den of Geek rounds up all of the spoilers they have for the Christmas special "The End of Time." They mention that we we'll meet a new kind of Ood (actually the one from the end of "The Waters of Mars"), and have summed up the cast of characters we'll be seeing: Wilf, Donna, Donna's mother Sylvia, the Master, the Master's wife, Joan Redfern, Rose, Luke Smith, Captain Jack, and Sarah Jane Smith. And, as we've mentioned before, former Bond Timothy Dalton will appear in the episode. A three-minute clip will air as part of the BBC Children in Need transmission this Friday. [Den of Geek]

Lost

The folks at DocArzt have cleaned up the Season Six poster so it's easier to identify the individual cast members. Larger version at the link. [DocArzt's Lost Blog]

Damon Lindelof talked to E! about what it's like to finish up the series and pull together so many of the show's mysteries:

"It's very exciting to us basically. It feels like we've been Christmas shopping for five years, and we've been accruing all these presents, and we've been locking them up in closets and not letting people look at them. And now there's sort of this, 'Oh my god, do they have one of these already? Did I get the right sizes? What was I thinking when I bought this? Are they even going to like it?' So there's a terror there, but at the same time, Christmas is here and it's time to open up the closet and start unwrapping and we'll see what happens."

[E!]

Mark Pellegrino, who plays Jacob confirms that he will be in multiple episodes this season, but wouldn't give an exact number. [PopStar via DarkUFO]

Supernatural

EW has a clip from this Thursday's episode, in which Sam and Dean's search for Lucifer puts them face to face with Meg and a pack of demonic hellhounds. [EW]

Smallville

Each episode of the two-part Justice Society has its own name — we've known for a while that the first part is "Society" and the second part is "Legends," but it turns out the two-hour event as a whole has a separate name: "Smallville: Absolute Justice." [EW]

FlashForward

Here's a sneak peek from this week's episode, "Believe." [Spoiler TV]

V:

Morris Chestnut and Laura Vandervoot talk about what's in store down the line for their characters. [Korbi TV]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Spider-Man 4:

Are we going to meet Peter Parker and Mary Jane's baby in the fourth movie? There's a casting call for a baby boy (aged two to three years) with red hair. (Actually, they want twins, so that they can keep filming and swap them out when one of the kids has to take a break. But it's almost certainly for just one kid.) A lot of fans are jumping to conclusions, assuming this means Spidey will have a kid — but as SpoilerTV points out, this could be a baby Cletus Kasady, who grows up to become Carnage. Or it could be any number of other things. All we really know is that they're starting to cast this movie, and apparently there's a red-headed kid in it. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Superman Returns Again:

James McTeigue is still super-interested in directing the next Superman film, but sounds less certain that it'll ever happen. But he does offer one more hint of how he'd approach the Man of Steel: "It's ripe for a retconning." Whatever that means. [MTV]

Planet 51:

But screw all this superhero shit — you really want to know about this animated film, in which The Rock is an astronaut who lands on a 1950s planet where he's the alien invader. Right? Apparently in the movie, an alien teenager decides the only way to protect himself from an anal probe is by using a champagne cork. There's a cute Mars Rover robot named Rover (who probably doesn't say "Gadget Gadget," alas) and an alien Chihuahua shaped like the creature from Alien, and something quasi-hilarious happens when he pees.

When The Rock first lands, he hums "Thus Spake Zarathustra," and then realizes he's interrupted an alien barbecue in which all the 1950s aliens are dancing to old-time rock 'n' roll. Chuck (The Rock) says to himself that "Kennedy's going to freak" when they find out about "sea monkeys dancing to the oldies." Other classic SF movies referenced in this film include Plan 9 From Outer Space and E.T. [Kansas City.Com]

Lost:

A new and exciting twist on the "alternate universe where Flight 815 landed safely" concept: a dapper Sawyer was spotted filming a scene at the upscale Diamond Head restaurant, part of the Lotus hotel, and his lunch companion? Was Charlotte (Rebecca Mader) last seen dying on the island. [Hawaii Weblog]

Fringe:

Here are the first two minutes of this week's Observer-centric episode. Plus a new photo. [Fox]

And here's a new promo for the episode. [Fringe Television]

And a load of promo pictures from episode 2x09, "Snakehead." [SpoilerTV]

Supernatural:

Mark Pellegrino explains more about his approach to playing Lucifer and what's coming up:

As you know, the angels in the show can be, well, a—-holes. It is Lucifer who is kind and empathetic and truthful. So, play the "Prince of Lies" as the most sincere one of the bunch and you have a fresh take. But I have a feeling things are gonna change. Lucifer has a big chip on his shoulder and that can't be restrained for long... The proverbial crap is gonna fly. Hell, it's the apocalypse for crying out loud. Something's gotta give. If I tell you more than that I'll have to kill you.

[PopStar via SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

Here are some promo pics from episode 10, "A561984". [SpoilerTV]

Assuming this show gets a second season, we'll see more of Mark Benford in season two — there will be new mysteries, but the second season is definitely a continuation of the first, says Jessica Goyer. [PopCorner.PL via FlashForward.PL]

Smallville:

Lois arrives in the future, in a new clip from Friday's episode:

Michael Shanks explains about his version of Hawkman, appearing February 5:

When we first meet Carter Hall he's in his museum. We'll learn he's a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society's time in the ‘70s, but we have since disbanded.

And apparently there's lots of flying and mace-swinging, but no bare chest — instead Hawkman has a weird bronze chestplate thingy. And here's a picture. (Full version at the link.) [TV Guide Magazine]

Stargate Universe:

But Shanks isn't just flying around Metropolis and giving Clark Kent advice — he's also a figment of Dr. Nicholas Rush's imagination in the upcoming Rush-centric episode "Human," in which we discover more about how he recruited Rush into the Stargate program. Shanks and Richard Dean Anderson also appear in the 18th episode, "Subversion." [Gateworld]

And here's a sneak peek at Friday's episode.

Heroes:

And here are five clips from the "Thanksgiving" episode. What are you thankful for? [The ODI]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Monday

The week starts off softly, with nothing worth watching until 8 p.m., when you have too many shows even for TiVo to choose from. Shall it be the second night of the so-disappointing-I-may-cry The Prisoner on AMC? New episodes of House on Fox (in which House treats a porn star and decides to bring together his dream team of minions) or Heroes on NBC (in which Tracey loses control of her ability, Matt fights inside his mind with Sylar and OH MY GOD PLEASE MAKE IT STOP ALREADY)? Or a marathon of nature doc redux Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel, which offers six hours of stunning footage and soothing Sigourney Weaver voiceover?

I'm saying TiVo Planet Earth for when you need to be reminded how amazing life can be, and watch House, because you know they'll get some good jokes out've the porn star patient.

Tuesday

While The Prisoner finishes up its run over on AMC at 8pm, ABC's V decides that it's time to copy - Sorry, I mean, "homage" - another sci-fi classic as Erica is forced to team up with a Visitor officer to protect Visitors from death threats in this week's episode, "Wow, do you remember Alien Nation with its buddy comedy pairing of human and alien cops? We sure do." Oh, wait. It's actually called "A Bright New Day."

(If you're in the mood for something a little more classic, Syfy is running an Outer Limits marathon from 8am through 3pm.)

Wednesday

With no new episodes of Mythbusters, you might as well spend the day either (a) not watching television, or the much-more-likely (b) flipping between Syfy's The Twilight Zone marathon (8am through 3pm) and AMC's classic run of Young Frankenstein (1pm), Ghostbusters (3:30pm) and, um, Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (8pm). Someone's told them that T3 isn't a comedy, right...?

Thursday

As if the traditional Thursday evening crush isn't enough, Syfy are willing to suck your life away with a First Wave marathon from 9am through 3pm, and AMC are willing to contribute with the original Stargate movie at 2:30. Before you know it, you'll be choosing between Flashforward on ABC (Everyone keeps trying to solve their FFs just like they've been for the last few weeks, except Bryce is finally getting off his ass and wondering about his future girlfriend a bit more) and Vampire Diaries on the CW (Jeremy takes up drawing and Elena discovers something terrible, which may just be a future script for the show), both at 8pm.

And then you have to choose again between Fringe on Fox (The truth behind the Observer! And Walter wants a milkshake, with guest-star Kelis. Okay, sadly that part about a guest-star isn't true) and Supernatural on the CW at 9 (The Winchester Bros. team up with Bobby, Ellen and Jo to send Lucifer back to Hell. Don't be surprised if things don't go to plan, considering it's still relatively early in the season). We might just watch Community and 30 Rock instead, though, and catch up with everything else online later, if that's okay with you guys.

Friday

Relive the first wave of post-Lost network television with Syfy's Invasion marathon (8am through 3pm), before switching over to watch Dustin Hoffman worry about his paycheck in Outbreak on AMC.

Let's be honest, Fridays are really all about the evening shows, though; Smallville finally tries to get to the bottom of Lois' future abduction/visions on the CW at 8pm (Kneeling before Zod is optional, I believe), while CBS' Ghost Whisperer is worried about someone dying at the same time, which makes no sense. Wouldn't that just mean she'd have someone else to whisper to? Why do they never think these things through?

At 9pm, you can choose between Medium on CBS, wherein Allison develops a strange sensitivity to light, or Syfy's Stargate Universe, wherein everyone catches their breath and uses those weird psychic projection stone things to talk to those they've left behind. Alternatively, you could switch over to Cartoon Network for a new episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, before ending the night with the latest episode of Sanctuary at 10pm on Syfy.

Saturday

Syfy tries to get your attention with a triple bill of cut-rate dragon movies (In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale at 9pm, Fire And Ice at 11:30 and Dragon Sword on Sunday at 1:30 in the morning), but there's no way that can compete with AMC's quadruple bill of the Alien movies: Alien starts at 5:30, followed by Aliens at 8pm, Alien 3 at 11 and Alien: Resurrection at 1:30 on Sunday morning. The first two, at least, are worth it.

Sunday

Oh, people. You all know by now that Sunday is Venture Bros day, right? I don't know what else to tell you aside from that, apart from the episode being entitled "Self-Medication". Oh, and that it's on Cartoon Network at midnight, and is really the most essential piece of television in the entire week. Don't leave home without it.