If you managed to miss out on ABC Family's amazing series The Middleman last year, now is your chance to finally get the full dose. You'll meet the mysterious, upstanding Middleman, who "solves exotic problems," as well as his assistant Wendy Watson, an aspiring artist who is also really good at fighting enormous genetically-mutated monsters with ballpoint pens. Find out why you shouldn't allow boy bands to create transdimensional doorways using the energy of thousands of fangirls, and why the man who made millions off the solar-powered uMaster cube has taken over the world in an alternate dimension where people eat aerosolized soup provided by the government. Oh, and watch Wendy and the Middleman trade quips as they fight evil ventriloquist dummies and flying Peruvian pikes that cause people to turn into trout-eating zombies. See why we love this show?

It's hard to find well-written SF on TV, let alone well-written comic SF. That's why this show is such a damn treasure.

This video on the Wilhelm Scream classic sound effect, hosted by zany showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach, is but one taste of the madness served up in the DVD extras on this set of twelve episodes. I liked this video in particular because it gives you a little taste of the non-linear wordplay and general madness that made this show so wonderful. And, of course, you get to experience the joy of hearing that scream, used in many horror and scifi movies throughout the twentieth century (most famously in Star Wars and Indiana Jones).

There are also loads of other extras, including a commentary tracks, a blooper reel (with extended interrodroid dance and teddy bear dance), Grillo-Marxuach riffing goofily as he answers email, deleted scenes, and (yes) much more. But really, the best part is have all the episodes together, to watch again and again. The dialogue is so fast and packed with references that you'll want to rewatch just to get that one moment where robot secretary Ida makes an obscure reference to the 3 laws of robotics, or the Middleman yells "eyes without a face"!

Pick up a copy for you and your pals!

Middleman DVD set via Amazon

Here goes our top pics, though I'm sure more will be revealed, write it down now!

Astro Boy
10:15-11:15 Summit Entertainment: Astro Boy A superhero origin story set in a futuristic world, Astro Boy is an all-new CG-animated feature film based on the classic manga about a young robot with incredible powers and his adventure-filled journey in search of his identity and destiny. Director David Bowers, producer Maryanne Grager, and stars Freddie Highmore (Astro) and Kristen Bell (Cora) debut footage exclusive to Comic-Con 2009 and answer your questions about bringing this beloved hero to the big screen. Room 6BCF

The io9 Panel
10:30-11:30 Science Fiction That Will Change Your Life - The staff of io9.com, Eisner Award winning author Douglas Wolk (Reading Comics), and others talk about science fiction from the last year that does more than blow things up. It might also blow your mind. What science fiction should you be reading and watching if you want your brain to grow so big it pops out of the top of your skull and starts throbbing and shooting lasers? The panelists have some tips. Room 8

Tron 3D Footage (Among Other Great Disney 3D Projects)
11:00-12:30 Disney: 3D Panel Walt Disney Pictures presents key filmmakers, select cast members and previously unseen footage from its upcoming slate, including Disney's A Christmas Carol, Alice In Wonderland and Tron. Special guests include Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Sean Bailey, Steve Lisberger, and moderator Patton Oswalt. Hall H

Middleman Cast Reunion
11:15-12:15 The Middleman Cast Reunion and Lost Episode Table Read - Creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost) and the complete cast, including Matt Keeslar, Natalie Morales, Brit Morgan, Mary Pat Gleason, Jake Smollett, Mark Sheppard, Brendan Hines, Sarah Watson, Jordan Rosenberg, Margaret Dunlap, and Andy Reaser reunite to celebrate the DVD release of The Middleman: The Complete Series from Shout! Factory, with an exclusive table read of the lost 13th episode, The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse, which was never produced for television but is now available as a graphic novel from Viper Comics. Room 6A

Richard Hatch: A BSG Retrospective
12:30-1:30 Moderated by actor/author Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt Apollo, author: So Say We All), with Bear McCreary (Battlestar, Eureka, Caprica composer), Michael Tayler (Battlestar, Caprica, Star Trek writer/producer), Kevin Grazier (Battlestar, Eureka, science consultant) and special guests, this panel provides a review, discussion and Q&A of Battlestar's past four seasons and dramatic ending. Includes the new BG 30th trailer. Room 6A

AVATAR
12:45-2:00 20th Century Fox and James Cameron presents Avatar. In this first public screening of footage in 3D from his much-anticipated action/adventure/fantasy, James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, and cast members take you to a spectacular new world beyond imagination. Conceived 14 years ago and over four years in the making, Avatar breaks new ground in delivering a fully immersive, emotional story and reinvents the movie-going experience. Hall H

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
2:00-3:00 Sony Pictures Animation: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs� In 2009, Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the classic children's book, the film focuses on a town where food begins to fall from the sky like rain. Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) is the voice of Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. Anna Faris (The House Bunny) takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior. James Caan plays Tim Lockwood, Flint's technophobic father. SNL's Andy Samberg plays Brent, the town bully who has plagued Flint since childhood. Bruce Campbell plays Mayor Shelbourne, who figures out that Flint's invention can put the town, and more importantly himself, on the map, and Mr. T plays the by-the-rules town cop, Earl Devereaux. Bobb'e J. Thompson (Role Models) is Carl Devereaux, Earl's son. Appearing in person: Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Bobb'e J. Thompson, and directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord. Room 6BCF

New Moon And Astro Boy Clips Shown
2:15-3:15 Summit Entertainment Panel Astro Boy And New Moon, (you know you love it) in Hall H. Clips cast members and screaming.

Oni Panel
3:00-4:00 Oni Press: Panelmonium 2009 Get up close and personal with trend setting indie comic powerhouse Oni Press. Join in the Q&A with your favorite Oni creators, including Ross Campbell (Wet Moon), Jamie S. Rich (You Have Killed Me), Greg Rucka (Whiteout), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim), and Chris Schweizer (The Crogan Adventures). Get sneak peeks at upcoming Oni projects, news on Oni Press fan initiatives, free Oni comics, prizes, and more! Guaranteed by Oni Press's totally biased employees to be "the most fun you'll ever have at a panel." Room 10

Wonder Women W/ Sigourney Weaver
3:45-4:45 Entertainment Weekly: Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture� EW will moderate a conversation with Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars), and other stars about the actresses who have redefined the rules and the female characters that have shattered the glass ceiling for all women. Basically: a discussion with women who kick ass. Ballroom 20

Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus Panel
4:45-5:15 in Hall H. I'm seriously ready to see a nice meaty trailer for this trippy work.

Pandorum
5:15-5:45 Overture Pictures: Pandorum. Don't fear the end of the world. Fear what happens next. From the producers of the Resident Evil film franchise comes a terrifying thriller in which two crewmembers wake up on an abandoned spacecraft with no idea who they are, how long they've been asleep, or what their mission is. The two soon discover they're actually not alone and the reality of their situation is more horrifying than they could have imagined. Appearing in person to give you a taste of Pandorum are stars Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand, 3:10 to Yuma, 30 Days of Night), Cung Le (The Ultimate Fighter), and Antje Traue. Pandorum is in theaters September 18. Hall H

Kick Ass
5:45-6:45 Kick-Ass World premiere footage from Kick-Ass, based on Mark Millar's bestselling comic, is presented by director Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layercake). Joining him on the panel are Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), and comic co-creator John Romita Jr., among others, including a surprise guest. You don't want to miss the chance to be the first to experience this gritty, brash, and funny actioner. Hall H

View the entire schedule over at the Comic Con site. See you in San Diego.

For those of you coming to this late, The Middleman was a graphic novel that spawned a television show on ABC Family last year. It followed the adventures of art student Wendy Watson, who takes a temp job that turns out to be an apprenticeship with the Middleman, a mysterious superhero who fights monsters and mad scientists. And the Middleman strikes up an awkward but really sweet flirtation with Wendy's roommate Lacey.

The Forbidden Romance Contingency: Show creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach says he balked at having any kind of romance between MM and Lacey. "I was only willing to make it a joke in the pilot," but insisted that would be the end of it. The pilot, incidentally, was 90 percent the same as the first issue of his graphic novel, laying out the characters as broad archetypes: the stoic, quirky hero, the snarky art student and her idealistic roommate.

But this is what happens when you develop a TV show, Grillo-Marxuach says. You bring that story that you created sitting in a room by yourself into a room full of other writers, and they start putting in their own ideas and influences. And you bring in actors like Natalie Morales (Wendy Watson), Matt Keeslar (The Middleman) and Brit Morgan (Lacey Thornfield) and they have bring their own stuff to the characters. One of the things that really jumps out at you, if you read the graphic novel (which you should) and then watch the TV series (which you most definitely should) is how much more complex and nuanced the characters become. Grillo-Marxuach says that's a result of working on the characters in a collaborative setting.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.And Grillo-Marxuach says he has "boundaries" in his own writing ability, stuff he can't or doesn't do. So when the other writers on the show started pushing for Lacey and MM to go on a date, Grillo-Marxuach pushed back. "But the writers in the writer's room kept insisiting... It's weird to be a showrunner at loggerheads with the writing room." He objected for several reasons: "He's older than she is, he's Wendy's boss and an authority figure." But in the end, he gave in, and that led to some of the more poignant moments in the show, and deepened the characters immensely. "If it was just me writing this in my room by miself doing every episode you'd never have seen that," says Grillo-Marxuach. "I'm not a megalmanical show runner, and I like it when people make my work better."

The Superhero Comedy Initiative: We just sat down and watched most of the show's run once again on DVD — the DVD box set comes out July 28, incidentally — and it's striking how much the show feels like a straight-up comedy when you watch a bunch of episodes in a row. Grillo-Marxuach is happy for people to view The Middleman as a comedy. "It was always a comedy, in that it always riffs on popular culture, and it always had this very specific pattery way of talking."

"If you want to send a message to the world — and I don't know that the show was a big message show — it's better to do it by making people laugh than by being preachy," Grillo-Marxuach says. The Middleman "was always a very sweet-souled show, and it had a lot of heart. It has a lot of pity towards villains. It says that evil is little people doing a lot of work not to be good, even though being good is probably easier."

And as we talked about last summer at Comic Con, a big part of the show's lightness is in response to the fetishization of darkness in genre entertainment of the past 20 years, shows and movies which insist that life is hard and full of struggle, and heroism will destroy your life. In response, "an affirmation of the possibility of joy and accomplishment is very much what the show is all about. Of course, my show got canceled after 12 episodes, and The Dark Knight made $600 billion," notes Grillo-Marxuach.

The Unlikely Terry Nation In-Joke Alert:The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.The fact that The Middleman is such an upbeat show makes it even funnier that — SPOILER ALERT — the unfilmed final episode is full of tiny references to Blake's 7, the famously depressing British science fiction series. I would list them, but we'd be here all day. "I was trying to find the show that has the most depressing series finale ever" to reference in The Middleman's finale, says Grillo-Marxuach. That unfilmed final episode, of course, is coming out as a graphic novel in time for Comic Con, and there'll be a reading of the episode's script, featuring the original cast, on Thursday at Comic Con. And for those who missed it, here's the official description:

Who is The Middleman's long-lost love? Can Lacey Thornfield ever forget her requited but never-acted-upon attraction to The Middleman? Is Manservant Neville a beneficent plutocrat or an evil madman with a nefarious plan for world domination? Will Wendy Watson and Tyler Ford ever find time for one another? Will Wendy Watson ever wear a slave girl costume? All your burning questions will be answered - and all your burning answers will be questioned - in this season-ending, series-concluding installment of The Middleman.

And at the right is a sneak peek at the graphic novel's final image of MM, from original artist Les McClain.

Anyway, all of those Blake's 7 references are there to set up a downer ending, but the graphic novel's actual ending is not that bleak, says Grillo-Marxuach. In fact, the graphic novel version of the series finale has a more upbeat ending than the actual episode would have had if it had been filmed as planned. By the time the show's creators were working on the 13th episode, they were exhausted from doing the first 12 and struggling with "big budget obstacles," and their beloved colleague Neil Levin had just died. (The show's 12th and final episode is dedicated to Levin.) But since Grillo-Marxuach had some time to rework the script slightly between the show's cancellation and the graphic novel coming out, "I found a way to end it on a more optimistic note... Had we shot it, it would have had more weariness."

So as Grillo-Marxuach puts it, "In our world, Blake is not evil, and the Federation is destroyed." (This led to us having a huge debate over whether Blake is evil in the Blake's 7 series finale.)

The "Never Say Never Again" Potential: So if the DVD box set sells a billion copies, could The Middleman still return in some form? Absolutely, says Grillo-Marxuach. "The nice thing is, this happened with Firefly, it happened with Futurama, it happened with Family Guy. There's a history of cult shows being found and further exploited by the corporations, in a good way."

So this seems like a great moment to plug the DVDs, which are coming out July 28 on Shout Factory. We'll post a review of the box set later, but they're already available for preorder at Amazon.com. And it's never too early to do your Christmas shopping. You never know when your local shopping mall will be overrun with gun-toting gorillas, after all.

Q: Will you be making another appearance on Middleman?

Kevin Sorbo: I really had fun doing that show and loved my character. There was talk of a spin off, but I have too many things on my plate that I want to do. I have no idea what is going to happen to that show, but I am hearing rumors it will be canceled.

Not being able to contain ourselves for fear of our Middlemania reaching its end (the thought of no more Dub Dub and Lacey is terrifying) we went straight to Javier Grillo-Marxuach and asked him to if Middleman is indeed getting canceled and what about this Guy Goddard spin off show staring the awesome-haired Sorbo?

Javier Grillo-Marxuach's reply was a little noncommittal — but comparing it to shows such as Family Guy and Firefly is doing nothing to calm my fears of cancellation.

I don't think ABC Family is ready to throw in the towel just yet. They love, and — more importantly — own The Middleman. But I think it's fair to say that they aren't going to order any new episodes in the immediate future. Right now, we are all focused on closing a deal for a DVD set that will please the fans with a lot of bonus material, bring new viewers to the show, and secure the show's legacy and longevity. As was the case with shows like Firefly, and Family Guy, the sales of the DVD will truly be the barometer for the future of The Middleman.

Ok but what about the zany 1969 Sorbo spin off, any truth to that because Guy was a great character?

Kevin Sorbo is one of the most gracious, professional and charismatic people with whom I've had the pleasure to work - and he embodied one of the most memorable characters in the Middleman pantheon; so I absolutely ran by him the idea of either bringing back, spinning off - or better yet, doing some kind of a movie set in the time of - Middleman '69. We had a great time discussing it, and, frankly, I'm grateful that he liked the show enough to think it was a nifty idea. With greater success or a longer run of episodes, it is something I would have pursued.

So while it sounds like this may be the end of Wendy and MM, sigh, at least we may have an awesome DVD collection to watch through tears and laughs each weekend. You'll regret this day, America — the Middleman was a classic gentleman among crappy TV superheroes. Seriously, the world commissions more episodes of Knight Rider, meaning that clever dialog and snappy comebacks have to take a back seat to Mike Tracer's less-than-thrilling abs? There is no God.

I actually just got done reading the Middleman Omnibus, so it was interesting to see a different version of archvillain Manservant Neville. I might do a whole blog post about the differences between the comic and the TV show, because I'm obsessive-compulsive, but suffice to say in the comic, M.N. is a glorified henchman, as his name implies. He gets killed by Wendy, who hurls him into the gullet of a giant man-shark. He does indeed look very suspiciously like perennially shifty actor Mark Sheppard, who plays him on TV. (Shifty? Or slippery? Maybe slippery is better.) In the TV version, he's suddenly a huge Steve Jobs-esque CEO, and secret organization F.A.T.B.O.Y. is suddenly Fatboy Industries, which is sort of like Apple. (And I'm guessing Fatboy's version of the iPod, the uMaster, is going to have some kind of mind-control application. Or something evil.)

So after weeks of rooting for Tyler to develop some kind of flaw, I was thrilled to see him hoodwinked by the obviously blatantly evil Manservant Neville. Although my hero Lacey was taken in as well, and even Wendy didn't seem to notice anything amiss. I'm really hoping there's time in next week's season finale for Tyler to become totally corrupt and evil. Or at least somewhat corrupt. He doesn't have to die or anything. Necessarily. Okay, actually I kind of like Tyler despite his weird flawlessness. And it was fun watching him navigate through all of those weird corporate tests with aplomb, especially the silent montage with the bomb picture. And the fake board of directors was a hoot.

Speaking of which, I have a thought: I know Manservant Neville sends Wendy to an evil alternate universe a la the Star Trek episode "Mirror Mirror," but does that mean we get an evil Wendy in "our" universe as well? I didn't see a trailer for the next ep, so I don't know if that was covered or not.

For a change, the episode's main plot was totally awesome, with plenty of Interrodroid/Ida action. We learned how you can tell the difference between Regular Ida and Evil Ida. (You can't.) And we got to meet a bunch of cute-ass Clotharian nano-bots, who should totally become Wendy's pets and follow her around trying to demolish stuff. I would so totally watch that.

Was it just me, or was Matt Keeslar suddenly putting a lot more grumpy into his usually jovial performance this time around? It was sort of jarring, as if the Middleman was just in a really bad mood throughout the story. I don't think it was in the script either... he was the same weirdly chipper guy as always, but Keeslar put a definite undercurrent of anger into him this time around. It made me realize how much the cameraderie between the MM and Wendy usually drives the show's engine of awesomeness. But then at the end of the episode, they had that incredibly moving scene together, where Wendy gives her boss her farewell speech and admits that he's like a father to her. I seriously got all choked up.

I loved the glimpse inside Ida's brain... who could have predicted that her inner Ida was a much sassier, more glamorous version? With actual decor and nice hair? She obviously needs to actualize a bit more. I'm not sure if I want to keep learning more and more about the inner workings of O2STK, the secret organization that employs the Middlemen. On the one hand, it would be cool, in a hypothetical season three or four, to visit O2STK headquarters at last and discover its inner workings. On the other, I have a feeling the more we learn about it, the less cool it'll seem. But maybe I'm wrong?

And oh yeah, the Doctor Who references! Series creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach has already enumerated them (in the link above), so I don't have to. But I was especially glad to see poor pusillanious Peri getting a peace treaty named after her, after the way she got treated on the show (strangling, head-shaving, braindeath and arranged marriage, among other things.) Also awesome was the shout-out to Terry Bisson, whose "Made Of Meat" story is well worth reading, and doubly worth hearing him read aloud.

But the single most important thing we learned this week: boxers. Camouflage, in fact.

Tonight

Superhero action-comedy The Middleman is having its most scifi episode to date at 10 PM on ABC Family. This would be a hot contender for the best show on TV during the fall season, but in the summer it's simply unmissable. "A group of peaceful aliens with an addiction to plastic surgery are being hunted down by a homicidal entity. Meanwhile, Ben puts his and Wendy's break-up video on the internet: Wendy is not thrilled." Okay, just take a moment and let that sink in: plastic-surgery-addicted aliens, plus Ben being more of a dick than ever. Equals ruleage. If you don't believe me, here's a new featurette to back me up:

Why is The Middleman banished to 10 PM? Why, so ABC Family can show the all-important Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Which may actually have some scifi content to it, especially since it features a "mad scientist" named Jonathan Jacobo. Did you know Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar made a Scooby sequel? I didn't. Wikipedia says Seth Green and Ruben Studdard are in it. And apparently, a direct-to-DVD Scooby 3 is in production. Really?

And at 3 AM, Sci Fi has a new Charlie Jade: "And Not A Drop To Drink." Here's what happens:

Charlie's leads draw him further into the series' dark world, Reena undergoes torture, Jasmine wants to remain free, we get a glimpse of Gammaverse politics, and we finally witness 01 Boxer travelling between worlds.

Movies: AMC has the original Escape From New York at 6 PM, so hurry home from work. Spike is still showing the Star Wars movies. The Sci Fi Channel is showing Lawnmower Man 2 at 3:00 Tuesday morning. I've never seen it, but I bet there's trippy VR sex. But no Pierce Brosnan (sob).

Tuesday

The History Channel has a rerun of The Universe, about stars beyond the Milky Way, at 8 PM. Followed by a new Mega Disasters, about a "deadly jet collision," at 10 PM.

Movies: TCM is showing 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea at 9 AM. HBO has the Simpsons Movie at 8 PM. And TMC has Mission: Impossible III at 2:40 Wednesday morning, written and directed by J.J. Abrams. And at 5:00 AM Wednesday, there's Hold On!, a 1966 British comedy about a rock group who are going to have a spaceship named after them.

Wednesday

The Sci Fi Channel is bringing back a long-canceled show called Scare Tactics, which uses Hollywood special effects to frighten and confuse people. Tonight at 9, a medical assistant thinks she's delivering Satan's baby. Yeah. I know.

There's a new Nova ScienceNOW at 9 PM on PBS, tackling various topics including saving the Hubble Space Telescope, the first primates, and whether we're going to run out of effective antibiotics. Here's a clip:

Or you could watch a new MonsterQuest on the History Channel at 9, all about the "Black Beast of Exmoor." Your call.

Movies: HBO has Galaxy Quest at 2:45, and Encore has the original Stargate at 4:05 PM, just in case you want to bone up on all things Gate-y before Friday's Atlantis premiere.

Thursday

HBO has a half-hour special about the new Batman movie The Dark Knight, at 10:30 PM. Also, we're totally not mentioning that spy show Burn Notice is starting its second season on USA at 10 PM. Even though it does have scifi hero Bruce Campbell in it. And Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer. And there are some pretty scifi-ish MacGyver-y gadgets. Anyway, not mentioning it. Moving on.

Movies: FX has Hellboy at 8 PM and 10 PM. And at midnight, USA is showing The Nutty Professor — the Eddie Murphy version. Isn't that so much better than sleeping? Also, it's not really scifi, but I have to mention Witches of Breastwick 2, another midnight movie, just for the title. Apparently it's about "seductive women." Speaking of seductive, Jeff Goldblum is on fire in The Fly, on Cinemax at three in the morning, and that's followed by Children Of Men at 5:10 AM.

Friday

At 9 PM, the Sci Fi Channel has the best Doctor Who episode of 2008, "Midnight." Without giving away spoilers, it's an episode that looks like it was made for about 50 pence, and it substitutes freakish drama for special effects. I was blown away, as you can see from the link above. Here's the first few minutes:

And then at 10, Stargate Atlantis returns, picking up where it left off last season. Can they rescue Teyla's baby? Also, Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager joins the cast as a regular and immediately starts making everybody's life difficult. We reviewed the first episode a while back, and you can read our write-up here.

Movies: The Disney Channel is showing the live-action Thunderbirds movie, starring America's favorite polygamist Bill Paxton, at 8 PM. And at the same time, the Cartoon Network has Ben 10: Secret Of The Omnitrix.

Saturday

The Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force at 10: the Forever Knights find themselves unable to capture an escaped dragon, so Ben tries to help. Only to feel conflicted when he hears both sides of the story.

Movies: The CW has X-Men at 1 PM. And USA has Jurassic Park at 8.

Sunday

At 11:30 PM, there's a new Venture Bros.: "The Ant Farm, or What Goes Down Must Come Up." And that's about all I can find out about it. It's followed by a new Metalocalpyse at midnight: "Dethdad." Toki hears that his dad is dying, so he journeys to Norway, and the rest of the band comes along to get "album inspiration" and put off actually working on their album.

Tonight

As usual, the week's TV highlight is a new episode of superhero show The Middleman, at its new time of 10 PM on ABC Family. This time around, the Middleman's sidekick Wendy is supposed to learn fighting from Sensei Ping, but he's kidnapped by a band of Mexican Wrestlers — who also get their hands on the Middleman himself. If you like fun, then I highly recommend The Middleman — I had high hopes for the series, but it's actually surpassed them, mostly thanks to Natalie Morales' engaging performance and the incredibly high-density clever scripts. But don't take my word for it, here's what Henry Jenkins has to say. He's a professor, after all:

The scripts for the series, not to mention the comics, are full of one laugh out loud one-liner after another, most of them playing on precise and pithy references to popular culture: I haven't seen a script this dense with injokes since early Joss Whedon... The performances consistently live up to the quality of the script: everyone gets a few memorable lines and moments in the spotlight in the opening episode and I can't wait to see where the characters go from here.

And here's a trailer for the new episode:

Also tonight, Spike is showing Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. The six Star Wars films are appearing almost every night on Spike this week, so if you missed their earlier showings, you can stop panicking and start watching the rise and fall of Anakin.

And at 3 AM (!!) the Sci Fi Channel is showing a new (to Americans) episode of dimension-shifting noir show Charlie Jade. Charlie Jade thinks that 01 Boxer, the dimension-jumping psycho, killed Elliott Krogg, who's become the scapegoat for a bombing that killed a lot of people. Meanwhile, back in Charlie's dystopian home dimension, Jasmin is grappling with the fact that a woman of her social rank is not supposed to be self-sufficient, and she has to decide whether to use sexual favors to survive.

At almost the same time Tuesday morning (3:15), Cinemax is showing My Super Ex-Girlfriend, to get you in the mood for Hancock. Marvel at Hollywood's cluelessness, and maybe get a few chuckles out of an airborne Uma Thurman.

Tuesday

The ever-reliable History Channel is serving up yet another dose of paranoia and mega-science, with a new episode of Mega Disasters at 10 PM. It's about "airborne attack," and it may make you want to wear a breathing mask if you live in the city. Here's the description:

Anthrax is the most feared of all the biological weapons—spores entering the body through the lungs are lethal. In 2001, a simple letter, sent through the US mail, paralyzed a nation, when anthrax spores were found inside. Experts predict that anthrax released over a populated area would result in unprecedented loss of life—a few pounds of anthrax released under the right conditions could kill hundreds of thousands of people. Will anthrax be used to create a worldwide disaster?

There's also a rerun of The Universe, focusing on the moon, at 8 PM.

AMC is showing the Don Knotts space comedy, The Reluctant Astronaut, at 3:45. Here's a giant chunk of that movie:

Wednesday

Tonight it's the battle of the science programs! Two different shows are airing at 9 PM — will you watch the respectable, highbrow science of Nova ScienceNow on PBS? Or a new MonsterQuest on History, focusing on "Super Rats"? Well, let's see... Nova ScienceNow includes segments on personal DNA testing, pulling excess carbon out of the atmosphere, which are sort of hot-button topics right now. On the other hand, MonsterQuest has evidence that rats used to be huge — and these massive, cat-sized rats are making a comeback. And they have an appetite for anything... even human flesh!!

Hmmm... serious science. Or cat-sized people-eating rats. What will it be? Does this sample of Nova ScienceNow help?

Another scheduling smackdown: FX is showing I, Robot (the Will Smith movie) at 5:30, and TMC has Starman, the movie about a widow and an alien on the run, at 6:30. Somehow, I'm not guessing that's much of a dilemma, for anyone who gets TMC.

Thursday

Tonight at 10 PM, there's a new episode of horror anthology series Fear Itself: "Eater," directed by Stuart Gordon. (Director of everything from Robot Jox to Reanimator.) In "Eater," a rookie cop has to watch over a serial killer called the "Eater," but her fellow cops start acting weird and she realizes nobody is whom they seem. (This website says "Eater" already appeared June 5, but the TV listings and IMDB both say it's a new episode as of this Thursday.)

The Sci Fi Channel is showing episodes of the classic Twilight Zone all day today and tomorrow. I wonder if they'll show that one with the twist ending? And the aliens?

We've talked a lot about how much we love C.S.A.: Confederate States of America, the alternate history movie about a world where the South won the Civil War. It's a wicked satire, but also a sharp-edged mirror on our real world, because it shows how different its alternate world isn't in many ways. And now you can check it out for yourself, on IFC at 7:45.

After showing the first two Planet Of The Apes movies a bunch lately, AMC is finally showing a different one, Escape From The Planet Of The Apes. Unfortunately, it's at 5 AM. Get up early and psych yourself up for work with some ape-action.

At 12:10 Friday morning, Encore has 12 Monkeys, Terry Gilliam's weird time-traveling plague movie starring Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis. I'm probably the only person who didn't like this movie — I found it a little too precious, and felt like it was an inferior remake of Gilliam's Brazil. But maybe I'll take this chance to watch it again and see if I was too harsh. And your chance to watch it again and remind yourselves how wrong I am.

And then at 12:30 AM Friday, Cinemax has Alien Sex Files: Aliens Gone Wild. Here's the plot description: "Lusty extraterrestrials explore human sexuality." It doesn't actually mention anal probes at all. Also, the HBO page says the movie features "gorgeous, sex-starved aliens" who cause an "explosion of erotic activity."

And at 3 AM, TCM is showing the 1941 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. See where the Hulk came from, and brace yourself for some classic 1940s science horror. Or you could just hold out for an hour and watch Mortal Kombat on TNT at 4 AM.

Friday

Tonight at 7 PM, ION Television has Gadgetman, starring Marina Sirtis from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Admit it, you wondered what she'd been up to apart from the Trek movies and occasional Voyager cameos. And just look at this great synopsis: "When a gadget-inventing professor is kidnapped for his latest invention, a wallet computer, his son enlists the help of a detective who is not all she appears to be." Marina probably shows whole new facets of her personality here. Or you could just watch The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man 2, back to back on FX.

Also, the Sci Fi Channel has more Twilight Zone all day today, plus all evening until midnight. Clear lots and lots of space on that TiVo, and then cancel those weekend plans.

Continuing its excursion into the later Apes movies, AMC is showing Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, at 9 AM.

Saturday

At 10:30 AM on Cartoon Network, there's a new Transformers: Animated, the first half of a two-parter called "A Bridge Too Close."

In his plan to take over Cybertron, Megatron captures Bulkhead. The Autobots plan a rescue party and discover that the Blue Racecar is actually an Autobot called Blurr.

And here's a chunk of the episode, complete with a funny Decepticon initiation ceremony:

Also, Encore has the underrated RoboCop 2 at 10:50, followed by Stargate, the movie that launched a huge TV franchise, at 1 PM and 10 PM. And Sci Fi is showing Resident Evil at 5 and Resident Evil: Apocalypse at 7.

Sunday

We'll never get Robert Rodriguez's version of Barbarella, but at least you can watch his movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl today at noon on the Disney Channel, and you can try and picture Rose McGowan in silver lame kinky boots in the middle of all that. Rodriguez collaborated with his kids to create this superhero fantasy, which is supposed to be one of the worst movies ever, but I've never seen it. Maybe it's only really in the bottom 20 percent.

There's another new Venture Bros. tonight at 11:30, called "What Goes Down, Must Come Up," but no other info is available. And then at midnight there's a new Metalocalypse, called "Dethsources." Those are both part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup.

Keeslar explained the darker and sad side to Middleman, pegging him as a "rugged individualist," forced into solitude. Keeslar says the audience, "will see how Middleman is kind of trapped by his job. That he has a hard time having a life outside of fighting comic-book evil. He's sort of hemmed in by the impractical life of constantly having to save the world. So when relationships develop, he often has to cut them short. He can't devote his attention to anything other than his work."

But at least the work is crazy interesting, including fighting trout-craving zombies that Middleman and Wendy have to attack by smearing fish innards all over themselves. I'll take a little loneliness as long as it comes with Middleman's adventures using fighting skills, "which range from WWF to Kung Fu," being used to rough-house with Mexican wrestlers in an Aztec pyramid, (which io9 brought you an exclusive first look at.)

Incredible Hulk:

When the Hulk first appears (after the credits sequence that retells his origin) he's in the shadows, attacking thugs and soldiers in a Brazilian slum like a lurking monster. He says his first words: "Leave me alone." And then his tired, weathered face appears out of the shadows, and he escapes, jumping all the way to Guatemala.

Soon afterwards, Banner is back in the U.S. searching for a cure for his condition. Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) gets only a low dose of the super-solider serum from General Ross, and becomes obsessed with seeking higher doses and more power, as his mental state begins to break down. Meanwhile, Banner discovers that trusting "Mr. Blue," aka Sam Sterns, wasn't the best decision. (Sterns is supposedly helping to cure Banner, but is destined to become The Leader, the Hulk's arch-enemy. He also helps Blonsky get a bigger dose of serum, turning him into the Abomination.)

The 20 minute fight between the Hulk and Blonsky's Abomination is unbelievably awesome, but at its core The Incredible Hulk is a love story between Bruce and Betty. [Hulk Movie Blog]

Wall-E:

Here's a new scene from Wall-E that aired during Finding Nemo on ABC the other day. It includes Sigourney Weaver's computer voice, and the revelation that the robots can say stuff other than their own names.

Heroes:

Those Heroes set pics we showed the other day, of Ali Larter dressed as a sex worker, were not actually Ali Larter after all. Unless they were her stunt double or something. Here are higher res pics. But are these still from the filming of Heroes? Unclear. [WENN via Superhiro]]

The Middleman:

The Middleman doesn't know whom he works for or where his instructions come from in the ABC Family show, says creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach. And the core of the show is the relationship between the Middleman and Wendy, with the central conflict being that the Middleman is the archetypal father-knows-best square-jawed hero, who actually does know best. He was a Navy Seal, who decided not to use profanity and to drink milk, and then he found this job with no gray areas that allows him to be a straight-edge superhero in an Eisenhower suit. [Media BLVD]

Lost:

Some more Lost spoilers: Nobody knows what Sawyer whispered to Kate on the helicopter, and it's a mystery for later. The fact that the official "Oceanic Six" story includes Boone, Libby and Charlie having survived the crash at first (before dying later on) means maybe we'll see the Six meeting with their families. And maybe we'll see more flashbacks featuring those three characters. We'll see Sawyer, Jin, Locke and company on the island all through next season. We may see a little bit of Claire, who is "off with Christian," but it's just that she won't be a regular character again until season six. [E! Online via The ODI]

Dollhouse:

Here are a few new promo pics from Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's show about mind-wiped programmable agents for hire. [Sci Fi Cool]

And another new review of the pilot script says star Eliza Dushku starts out playing a character who's very similar to Faith, the iconic vampire slayer she played in creator Joss Whedon's old show Buffy. And then in the next scene, Dushku has a personality shift, and is suddenly playing someone totally different. But every time the "Actives" are programmed with a new personality, they keep a little bit of their own core personalities, and you can sort of see them develop as characters each time.

And that clip we showed before? When Dusku's Echo talks to FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) about looking for her missing sister? It turns out that Dushku has just been "programmed" by the Dollhouse to think she's looking for a missing sister. But her real programming, under the searching-for-sister programming, is to assassinate Paul. [Youcan'tdownloadit via Whedonesque]

Battlestar Galactica:

The "Space" trailer for Friday's new BSG episode includes some startling new footage. [Battlestar Blog]

Also, you won't be surprised to find out there's some "friction" between the newly returned President Roslin and "President" Lee Adama. And also between Lee and his dad. We'll see Starbuck and Apollo paired up a bit more in the second half of the season (in 2009.) There's a big story coming up that will answer all your questions about Dualla. Oh, and last week, Lee was totally manipulating Romo Lampkin to get the presidency, at least subconsciously (or subtextually). [Zap2It]

Doctor Who:

Digital Spy is once again circulating eight real spoilers, and two "red herrings," for next Saturday's Doctor Who episode, "Midnight." As always, it's obnoxious, but here they are anyway:

• A sinister shadow poses a threat to the Crusader 50 vessel, according to a crew member.
• Betty Boop is seen doing the do in front of The Doctor.
• A Professor is carrying a hidden bomb strapped under his jumper along with a unique ultimatum.
• The Doctor toasts the Lost Moon of Poosh.
• It's Election Day on the planet Midnight, prompting The Doctor to discuss Arcadia.
• Rose Tyler trades places with a pop singer.
• Fans of a certain French phrase will be happy.
• The Doctor tries to force a pi into the mouth of an alien.
• One of the characters tells the Time Lord: "Oh Doctor, you're so handsome." He agrees.
• A famous poem by Christina Rossetti is analysed by The Doctor and one other character, in reference to ongoing events.