If you can't remember what all these new shows are — which is a bad sign for some of them, to begin with — then check out our handy guide to the new TV season, for all the details.

We noted on Wednesday that none of Fox's seven recently-announced pilots were the kind of sci-fi fare that we've come to expect (and worry about) from the network, and now that news of ABC and NBC's latest pilots has been released (more here), it may be time to wonder if sci-fi's lure has faded in light of recent ratings flops.

Of course, NBC's sci-fi phobia isn't entirely unfounded; in the last couple of years, Journeyman, Bionic Woman and My Own Worst Enemy have proven to be high-profile SF launches that flopped for the network, and with falling ratings for Heroes and rumors of the possible cancellation of both Knight Rider and Chuck circling, NBC could be forgiven for thinking that science fiction isn't really something they can succeed with long term (They'd much rather stick with er clones; two of the network's few announced pilots are medical dramas: Mercy and Trauma). In fact, you could make the argument that science fiction as a genre doesn't have a great track record for broadcast networks in general, especially considering the ratings worries of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and content concerns leading to reworkings of both Dollhouse and Virtuality over at Fox. Maybe the success of Fringe and Lost has more to do with JJ Abrams' name and the personal dynamics of the shows over the science portion (Remember, too, that Lost's producers have talked about having to introduce the sci-fi elements of the show secretly, over time)...?

(This is where you can insert your own argument about the failure of shows like Knight Rider or Bionic Woman being more closely attributed to their quality than their nature, and I think that definitely should be taken into consideration. But, at the same time, was Bionic Woman really that much worse that, say, NCIS? Or Law & Order? Do mainstream audiences hold sci-fi series to higher standards than other genres, or do the majority of them just stay away, and there's a discerning, curious crossover audience that'll give a show a try before bailing if it's not up to their standards?)

Instead, it's beginning to look as if television networks are beginning to look at more fantastical escapism for their audiences; Fox have a new pilot about reincarnation, and ABC have given the go-ahead to a television version of The Witches of Eastwick. Even Flash Forward, ABC's new high-profile series from David Goyer and Brannon Braga, could end up being played as a more spiritual/fantasy-based drama, depending on whether the series stays with the original novel's reason for the worldwide flash-forward (by-product of the Large Hadron Collider being activated), which - considering they've said that each season will end with another flash-forward, may not be the case.

(Interestingly enough, ABC may be the network to pay attention to next fall; in addition to Flash Forward and Eastwick, they've also greenlit Happy Town, a mystery pilot from the makers of Life on Mars that's described as being the next Twin Peaks.)

If we are about to see television networks shift away from hard sci-fi towards a particular urban brand of fantasy, there are some good reasons why, outside of the (relative) failure of sci-fi shows; the sleight-of-hand of urban fantasy allows for cheaper shows that require less world-building or technobabbled explanations that may confuse audiences, for example, and in the ongoing journey for television to grab as many youthful eyes as possible, exploiting the genre of Twilight and Harry Potter would seem like a no-brainer. Most importantly, of course, the term "science fiction" scares mass mainstream television audiences for some reason, despite the success of Fringe and Lost and Heroes, and the networks are just following the advertising dollars... which, of course, are following the mass mainstream audience.

It's not permanent, of course; all it'll take is another "surprise" hit SF show and we'll see science fiction stage another takeover bid, just as Heroes begat Journeyman, Chuck, Bionic Woman et al, and Lost's success brought us Surface, Threshold and Invasion. Jesse Alexander, we're pinning all our hopes on you.

Monday:

The Sarah Connor Chronicles -
Sarah and Cameron have to protect Derek's past family. But of course the family doesn't really believe them until Cameron takes a round of bullets to the chest and doesn't flinch. Then they start listening. The new Sarah Connor Chronicles is on 8 PM on Fox.

TSCC Promo:

TSCC Clip:

TSCC: Clip:

Chuck -
Find out why Sarah's con-man daddy (the fabulous Gary Cole) was in prison and watch Sarah move heaven and hell to help him get out of trouble from his last big con. Also there appears to be a Delorean in this episode somewhere. Because Chuck, if you haven't figured it out yet from NBC bludgeoning you over the head about it, is a GEEK. "Chuck Versus the Delorean" is on NBC at 8 PM.

Chuck Promo:

Heroes -
Hiro and Claire time-travel around, leaning about how Noah got the baby cheerleader from Kaito Nakamura, but I'm sure none of this temporal meddling will change the present a bit. Oh and there's yet another climatic fight that we've all been waiting for. Heroes, the show with no real consequences, is on 9 PM on NBC.

Heroes Clip:

Heroes Promo:

My Own Worst Enemy -
Nobody can get along this week, over at Christian Slater's magical super secret agent spy agency. Mavis and Alistair (real names) are arguing about how to rescue these hostages that Edward and Raymond found in Angola. Then Dr. Skinner (not the yellow-faced principal from The Simpsons, mind you, but a lady) is called in about her relationship with Edward. My Own Worst Enemy is on NBC at 10 PM. Watch if you dare.

Gundam 00 -
One full hour of mecha madness on the Sci Fi Channel from 11 PM until 12.

Movies:

Get a glimpse of a young Winona Ryder before she went all crazy. She's paired with a super emo Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands, on HBO at 1 PM.

Tuesday:

There is a Tales From The Darkside marathon on the Sci Fi Channel from 6 AM until 2:30 PM.

No new Fringe this week.

The Universe -
Curious to see the faces of our interstellar alien friends? Well, check out The Universe at 9 PM on The History Channel.

The Universe Promo:

Movies:

The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice — or National Treasure for dummies — is on TNT at 7 PM.

AMC has its usual scifi round up of sweaty chested lovelies Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale getting all hot and bothered over dragons in Reign Of Fire at 8 PM, followed by more intense action with Terminator 2 on 10 PM.

Wednesday:

There's a Special Unit 2 marathon on the Sci Fi Channel from 8 AM until 3 PM. Wait, you don't remember Special Unit 2? Let me refresh your memory, rocking guitar opener and all:

Pushing Daisies -
Olive leads the team to crack the mysterious murder of the lighthouse keeper, and Ned has to deal with the sudden appearance of Chuck's Pappy and all his creepy bandages. Pushing Daisies is on ABC at 8 PM.

Pushing Daisies Promo:

No new Knight Rider this week.

UFO Hunters -
This week, let's crack the whole mystery behind the Arizona lights. Apparently there's been a bit of a situation with light/alien/just-a-plane activity in the Arizona skies. The new episode is on The History Channel at 10 PM.

Here's a news report about when UFO Hunters came to Phoenix:

UFO Hunter Promo:

Movies:

TCM is having a fabulous day of scifi specials. The Cat People are taking over at 6 AM, followed with Return Of The Cat People at 7:30 — and this classic movie is dayum scary especially when you can hear the cat person nom, noming it's prey. But for serious, it's scary.

At 12:30 and 2 PM, TCM will fill you up with evil children with Village of the Damned first, followed by Children Of The Damned.

2001: A Space Odyssey classic will be appearing at 3:30 PM on TCM, and at 6 PM there's 2010.

Thursday:

No new Smallville this week.

No new Supernatural this week.

No new Life On Mars this week.

No new Eleventh Hour this week.

Testees -

This week on Testees, the boys lose the ability to feel pain. So Ron becomes a daredevil, and Peter a boy toy for a dominatrix. "Mr. Pain and Danger Lad" are on Fox FX at 11 PM.

Movies:

Go crazy with board game fantasy and that hairy comic that talks really fast, when some poor children get sucked into a violent board game called Jumanji at 1 AM on TNT.

Embrace John Carpenter's wonder before they remake it into crap, with The Thing on the Sci Fi Channel at 7 PM.

Friday:

Batman: The Brave And The Bold -
Batman gets into the holiday spirit, bringing a bad Santa who's on a crime spree to justice. Batman is on Cartoon Network at 8 PM.

Clone Wars -
Finally, it's all Grievous all the time, or at least that's what I'm hoping this week's Clone Wars turns out to be, it's all about his Lair. To which I wonder: how does Grievous decorate his lair? Does he have a smoking room, or a pool? What about a balcony? This week on the Cartoon Network at 9 PM, we shall finally see.

"Lair Of Grievous" Behind The Scenes:

General Grievous Jam:

Stargate Atlantis -
Off with her head, or something close like it. This week Jewel Staite gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. So if Dr. Keller dies, does this mean I can have McKay? Because I'd be okay with that. Stargate Atlantis which has only THREE episodes left, will be on the Sci Fi Channel at 9 PM.

(editor's note: sorry I confused this weeks with last weeks, when clearly this last Friday's was "Infection" and this is "Identity.")

Stargate Promo:

Sanctuary -
This week the monster kids are tracking down a secret fight club where the people battle to the death. You know like Fight Club, only not cool in the slightest. The new Sanctuary is on 10 PM on the Sci Fi Channel.

Movies:

ABC family is premiering The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Check out James McAvoy as the little fawn, Mr. Tumnus, before he got all Wanted hot (I preferred the shirtless goat-scarf look, to be honest). The movie will air at 6 PM and 9:30 PM.

Tumnus!

Saturday:

Movies:
Get bouncy with Flubber at 9:40 AM on TBS.

Sunday:

Movies:

One of the best Disney scifi movies ever is The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, staring Kurt Russell. Please do enjoy this clip — it's on 12 PM on TCM.

Monday:

Sarah gets close to the Turk in tonight's all-new Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Honestly I'm still reeling from the "maybe I'm not from the same future as you" craziness that Derek Reese unloaded last week. SCC is on Fox at 8 PM.

Clip From SCC:

Clip From SCC:

Promo For SCC:

Nerd-playa Chuck is juggling one too many ladies, so obviously one of them is going to become evil and force a blonde angry spy to kick the brunette's adorable little keister. Yup, it's yet another chick fight over at Chuck at NBC on 8 PM.

Chuck Promo:

Heroes goes dark in a two-parter starting tonight. Part one of "The Eclipse" episode has Arthur sending Sylar and Elle after the cheerleader. But more importantly, this is the week that lovable geeks Seth Green and Breckin Meyer guest star as a couple of comic-book nerds with all the answers. Heroes is on NBC at 9 PM.

Heroes Behind The Scenes Seth and Breckin:

Heroes Clip:

Heroes Clip:

Heroes Promo:

Heroes Promo:

It's Slater time! This week on My Own Worst Enemy Edward desperately tries to solve the mystery of his parents' murder. Will we find out the truth, before the show ends and never comes back? The episode "High Crimes And Turducken" is on 10 PM on NBC.

Movies:

Learn how the Christian Bale Batman was born with Nolan's first bat-movie. Batman Begins is on FX at 10:30 PM.

Also saddle up for a Star Wars prequel marathon on the Spike channel starting at 5 PM and continuing on into the next day.

Tuesday:

Our prayers are getting answered this week on Fringe: it sounds like "The Dreamscape" is a Peter-centric episode. Also Olivia tries to dip back into the memories of her dead ex-boyfriend, but who cares? Peter's gonna rough some people up and show us what he's capable of. Fringe is on Fox at 9 PM.

Fringe Promo:

Movies:

Watch the world end with snow and tornadoes a plenty on The Day After Tomorrow which airs on Fox FX at 7:30 PM.

Wednesday:

More murders are coming in on Pushing Daisies for our adorable investigators to solve. This week a millionaire gets the axe and the finger points to a Robin Hood-like character. Catch the new episode on ABC at 8 PM.

Pushing Daisies Promo:

No Knight Rider this week.

Movies:

It's not a holiday without a little Doc and Michael J. Fox. Back To The Future is on Encore at 3:40 PM.

Thursday:

No new Smallville this week.

No new Supernatural this week.

No new Life On Mars this week.

No new Eleventh Hour.

Movies:

Stuff yourself with holiday treats, then settle in for a massive Planet of The Apes marathon over at the Fox Movie Channel. Four days of Apey goodness starting at 8 PM and going all the way through Sunday. The highlights include (presented in widescreen) Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and a few TV Ape movies like Treachery and Greed on the Planet of the Apes and Farewell to the Planet of the Apes.

But wait we're not done yet!

On the Sci Fi Channel you've got a bushel of James Bond at 6:30 and 11 PM watch Tomorrow Never Dies and at 9 PM The World Is Not Enough.

The Incredibles, everyones favorite family of superheroes is on NBC at 8 PM.

Friday:

Ahsoka is under attack on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and she has to fight with Luminara to protect their prisoner Nute Gunray. Fight, baby Jedi, fight!

Clone Wars Promo:

No new Stargate Atlantis

No new Sanctuary

No new Ben 10

Movies:

Go ahead and use those leftover mashed potatoes to build your own alien landing pad and watch Close Encounters Of The Third Kind on AMC at 5 PM.

Saturday:

Movies:

More end-of-the-world madness, but this time Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck ride a rocket to meet an oncoming asteroid that aims to destroy the world, in Armageddon on Fox FX at 6 PM.

Put on your red PJs and do the spidey dance — the first Maguire Spider-Man movie is on TNT at 10:30 PM.

Sunday:

Movies:

Learn the real truth behind the things that go bump in the night with Will Smith and the secret government officials called the Men In Black on 12 PM on TBS.

Monday:

This week we may finally get some answers in Sarah Connor Chronicles. After last week's Mexican fiasco, it seems the team is hungry for some answers, and Sarah has to spill the beans on what she's done to change the course of fate. Plus it looks like we'll be getting some crazy dream sequences with all the bots and Sarah. SCC is on Fox at 8 PM.

Sarah Connor Chronicles Preview:

Sarah Connor Chronicles Clip:

It's blondes versus brunettes on Chuck this week as the old flopsy haired Nerd Herder has to chose between his fake girlfriend Sarah and his ex-girlfriend Jordana Brewster. "Chuck Versus the Fat Lady" is on NBC at 8 PM.

Chuck Preview:

Everybody is gunning for Peter and Claire this week (pretty much just like every other week on Heroes). Sylar gets in Elle's face at Pinehearst, and oh yeah — that eclipse that gave everybody superpowers, well, apparently "It's Coming" again. Heroes is on NBC at 9 PM.

Heroes Preview:

Heroes Clip:

Heroes Behind The Scenes:

Enjoy the last few episodes of My Own Worst Enemy while you still can. This week Edward kicks it with the KGB while Henry tries to uncover Angie's secret backstory (is she a spy too?). "The Night Train To Moscow" episode is on NBC at 10 PM.

Tuesday:

Get your fill of Elisha Dushku with a Tru Calling marathon from 8 AM until 3 PM on the Sci Fi Channel.

Walter goes back to the loony bin to uncover some time traveling ghost hunting craziness. Finally a more Walter-centric Fringe, which is exactly how I like my mad scientist, full of fruit-cup brilliance. Fringe is on 9 PM on Fox.

Wednesday:

Hooray, Pushing Daisies is back and this time with double the cheeky magic. Fred Willard is on as the top hatted magician who has been a surrogate father to Ned's half brothers. Fred's magical animal assistants are all dying off and the magician needs some help figuring out who's the culprit on NBC at 8 PM. Here are a collection of pics from the new episode.

No Knight Rider this week.

Movies:

Don your terrible wigs and even worse Eastern European accents: Van Helsing is on TNT at 11 PM.

Thursday:

Wedding bells are ringing for the secondary characters on Smallville. Will Chloe's wedding go off without a hitch? Probably not if Doomsday has something to say about it, plus Lana comes back and totally ruins the chances of Lois and Clark having an embarrassing open-bar wedding hookup. I bet she walks in right as they are about to kiss. Smallville is on the CW at 8 PM.

Smallville Clip:

Smallville Clip:

Smallville Preview:

Supernatural's Dean and Sam, have to make battle with yet more demons and angels, and Anna still isn't dead yet this week, but if the boys don't figure out how to kill a pack of angels, Dean's going straight back to hell — do not pass go, do not collect $200. "Heaven and Hell" is on the CW at 9 PM.

Supernatural Preview:

Supernatural Clip:

Supernatural Clip:

Supernatural Clip:

Sam Tyler gets to meet his Papa this week (who just so happens to be a crook) and holy cow — it's Dennis Duffy the beeper king, otherwise known as Charley Dixon from SCC. This guy is in everything! Life On Mars is on 10 PM at ABC.

Hood gets to meet some super secret super soldiers this week on Eleventh Hour at 10 PM on CBS.

Movies:

The ultimate reality TV show of the future follows baby Jim Carrey as Truman from conception to escape, in The Truman Show at 10 PM on TBS.

Friday:

Jar Jar is all over this week's Star Wars: The Clone Wars, so Binks-haters beware. He's actually mistaken for a Jedi and gets into wacky hijinks with C-3PO. "Bombad Jedi" is on Cartoon Network at 9 PM.

Clone Wars Preview:

The nerdgasm we've all been waiting for is about to air this week, in Stargate Atlantis' special "Brainstorm" episode. Not only is Bill Nye the Science Guy making a cameo, but so are Dave Foley and Neil deGrasse Tyson. This week McKay and Dr. Keller descend to Earth to watch McKay's rival Foley demonstrate his latest project. Atlantis is on 9 PM on the Sci Fi Channel.

Sanctuary's Will digs deeper into his father's past on 10 PM on the Sci Fi Channel.

Sanctuary Preview

Ben 10: Alien Force's Ship has to be saved from the Forever Knights on the Cartoon Network at 9:30 PM.

Batman gets face to face with some dinosaurs this week in Batman: The Brave and the Bold on the Cartoon Network at 8 PM.

Saturday:

Movies:

The Return Of The Joker is on 9 PM on the Cartoon Network.

Sunday:

Everything is going to Hell in a hand-basket on True Blood. Sookie starts to piece together the missing pieces of the local murders, and Sam gets a visit from an old buddy. Hopefully they meet in the shapes of animals. True Blood is on HBO at 9 PM.

True Blood Preview:

Movies:

Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt chase mother nature, but stay sexy in Twister at 6 PM on TNT.

Cloverfield 2:

Cloverfield director Matt Reeves is still talking about a sequel, and the studio definitely wants one. There are a couple of sequel ideas floating around, but nothing definite yet. One idea is to do a film set in Japan, which after all is the source of the movie's giant-monster inspiration. (And maybe we could learn more about the mysterious Tagruato corporation, and why its name isn't actually Japanese.) One thing's for sure: the sequel won't pick up where the first film left off, and may not feature the survivors from the first movie. Instead, it may be tangentially related, but "intersect" with that night's events somehow. No matter what, the sequel — which Reeves may not direct — won't happen unless it's something awesomeriffic that he and J.J. Abrams would want to watch. [MTV]

Doctor Who:

Another batch of rumors that the time-travel show's main overseer at BBC Wales, will move to Los Angeles to join her current boss, Jane Tranter. And the newest reports are suggesting that two of next year's one-off Doctor Who stories could film in the U.S. under Gardner's supervision. Previous reports only suggested that one of the specials could happen on our shores. How this jibes with the other rumors about next year's specials, like the one about filming in Tunisia, is hard to say. [Guardian via Planet Gallifrey]

Meanwhile, John Simm (The Master) is emphatically not ruling out a return to the BBC's time-travel soap-comedy. [Planet Gallifrey]

Heroes:

Here are some pics from episode 11, "The Eclipse Part 2." Nathan in bondage! Sadly, no pics showing Seth Green and Breckin Meyer helping Hiro get his memory back with the aid of comic books, which is the greatest plot idea ever. [NBC]

Here's a sneak peek from Monday's episode, where Nathan tries to psych himself up to meet his dad. [SpoilerTV]

And here's the Canadian trailer for Monday's episode, which gives way more of the whole Claire-is-the-catalyst-to-the-superpower-serum plot:

Smallville:

Here are some promo pics from the wedding episode, "Bride," featuring the return of Lana, plus Lois wearing an unfortunate orange thingy. [FanPop]

And "Bride" will end with more than one cliffhanger, says TV Guide. The episode (the last before a long break) will have several "shockers" that the audience will have to wait until next year to see resolved. Chloe's wedding day is "a doomed day for Davis Bloome." (Oh, a pun. I get it. Ha.) [OSCK]

Supernatural:

Some more casting pages came our way, this time from episode 13, "After School Special." They're casting Young Dean, Mr. Wyatt, Amanda and "Dirk Senior." Enjoy!

And in tonight's episode, as you've heard already, guest star Julie McNiven (Mad Men) plays Anna, who can hear the voices of angels. Ruby is the one who finds out about Anna's gift, and she tells Sam and Dean. Anna is locked in a mental institution, because she says she can hear angels. (Duh.) She knows it's the voices of angels, because it's all about the brewing war between Heaven and Hell. And she gets to hear how Lucifer will bring the Apocalypse. A demon named Alistair wants to take Anna to Hell, where he can torture her for information. The angels want her dead, and the demons want her alive. [TV Guide]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars:

Here's another promo image from Friday's new episode, where Anakin and the gang go to rescue Artoo. And it looks like Captain Rex and the R3 unit get trapped in a nasty spot. [Warner Bros.]

My Own Worst Enemy:

In episode 7, "Down Rio Way":

Edward (Christian Slater) risks committing treason while confronting Alistair Trumbull (guest star James Cromwell, “Six Feet Under “) over the facts surrounding his parent’s death. Meanwhile, Raymond (Mike O’Malley) is forced to interfere in the relationship between Tom (O’Malley) and his wife Mary Grady (Missy Yager, "Boston Public") in order to clear up a potentially catastrophic accident. Henry (Slater) disagrees over the validity of his son Jack’s (Taylor Lautner) purchase of a used car.

I watched this show the other day, and I think the whole rebellious-son subplot is the weak link, by the way. [NBC]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

G.I. Joe:

Here are the first alleged pictures of Snake Eyes' motorcycle, which looks pretty bitchin. More pics at the link. [Hiss Tank via Movies Spoilers]

Avengers:

Now that Jon Favreau is executive producing the team-up movie including his guy Iron Man, he's much more vocal about what he wants to see happen. He says he wants to establish that Tony Stark's dad, Howard, had some connection to Captain America — which explains that shield you glimpsed on Tony's workbench.

"There's some relationship between Tony's father and what was going on in World War II, in the Marvel Universe, and Shield, so we're trying to lay some pipe here so that when it all happens it feels somewhat inevitable." And he says the biggest challenge will be integrating Thor with the other Avengers characters, so it all feels like the same universe. Good thing all the Marvel films will be shooting in the same studio and sharing creative input. [IGN]

Kick Ass:

Here's a much better look at Aaron Johnson as the movie's title character, Dave Lizewski aka Kick Ass, and possibly our first look at Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist. A bigger version, plus another pic, at the link. [Slashfilm]

Lost:

Another day of filming: a chunk of Honolulu got converted into Manhattan's Upper West Side for a street scene, including the Columbus & 67th street subway station, some New York cabs, some news racks, and an antique rug store, established 1902. The scene seemed to revolve around a Honolulu prep school, converted into the Fieldcroft School, with a black limo parked out front.

The scene involved Ben, Locke, Abaddon and... Walt! OMG Walt! Ryan with Hawaii Blog missed the parts with Ben, but saw a scene where Walt and Locke (still in a wheelchair) talked across the street from the school. Eventually, some kids near the school entrance call Walt over, and Abaddon helps Locke into the back of a Lincoln Town Car. Locke has a blue cast on his leg, but can "hobble" over to the car. [Hawaii Weblog]

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Mitchell will be busier than ever in the new season of Lost... but it remains to be seen if she's getting busy with Sawyer. [TV Guide]

Battlestar Galactica:

Things can only get worse for the Galactica crew in the last 10 episodes, because "it's Battlestar," jokes Tahmoh Penikett. Tahmoh was brought to tears three different times in the final few episodes. "Stay true to us," he urges. "We'll bring you through." (Does he mean "bring us through" to a happy-ish ending?) And add Penikett to the list of people who aren't in the two-hour TV movie, "The Plan." [AOL Video]

Fringe:

People were a little worried when we said the other day that there were no episodes confirmed for Fringe after the Nov. 11 episode. But you can relax now — here are details for the next few eps. In the Nov. 11 episode, Olivia goes to a German prison and has to rely on help from her ex, a German member of Parliament. In the Nov. 18 episode, Walter faces his deepest fears when he has to go back to the institution where he was locked up, St. Claires, to extract info from a patient. And then on Nov. 25, Peter gets put in danger when he meets his ex-girlfriend, Tess. It didn't end well between Peter and Tess, and Peter just disappeared on her. And now she's with someone new. [FringeBloggers]

Heroes:

Even though the ageless Adam apparently snuffed it last week, the Heroes producers say it's possible we'll be seeing him again. Also, Sylar is going to use the ability he picked up from Bridget, the ability to sense an object's history by touching it, to learn more about Pinehearst. And the heroes will join forces to stop the villains, but they won't be a "team" in the way the Justice League or Avengers are. [The ODI]

And here's a "sneak peek" from the Nov. 10 episode, where we get to see more of Mama and Papa Petrelli's marriage. [Heroes Television]

Chuck:

The nerd/spy-brain show is casting a major character for its fourteenth episode, "Chuck vs. the Aqua Velva": Dominic, a tough macho rough-and-tumble Brit/Australian guy, like Jason Statham or Clive Owen. [SpoilerTV]

We may eventually see Morgan find out about Chuck's spy life, but it won't happen for another year or two probably, says Joshua Gomez. And it would be cool to see Morgan play Alfred to Chuck's Batman. [TV Guide via SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

The uninvited guests at Chloe and Jimmy's wedding will include a guy with "a bad case of bony protrusions." (Doomsday?) And the returning Lana is "a woman on a mission." Something surprising will happen in the last few seconds. [TV Guide via OSCK]

Life On Mars:

Sam Tyler will start to get through to the cops at the 125, but they'll still have a lot of friction with him because his mindset is so different, says Michael Imperioli. And Imperioli's character, Ray, has a great birthday party in episode six, that's "fun and exciting." And yes, the explanation for the reason Sam is time traveling will be different in the American version than it was in the original British version. [TV Guide]

Eleventh Hour:

Here are some promo stills from the Nov. 13 episode, the one where a woman turns up on the beach, frozen solid on the hottest day of the year. [SpoilerTV]

My Own Worst Enemy:

The brain-chip Jekyll/Hyde show's sixth episode has the alluring title, "High Crimes And Turducken." And here's what happens:

Edward (Christian Slater) risks national security in order to ascertain the identity of his parent’s killer. Angie (Madchen Amick) prepares for bad news when her father Archie (Stephen McDonald Howard) comes to town for the holidays. Meanwhile, Tom (Mike O’Malley) rekindles his strained relationship with his wife Mary Grady (Missy Yager, "Boston Public") over a bourbon fuelled cooking session. Henry (Slater) gets a birds eye view of Edward’s relationship with Dr. Norah Skinner (Saffron Burrows).

[SpoilerTV]

Monday:

Adorably dorky Chuck features yet more overly attractive women getting thrown at the nerd with the spy computer in his brain this week. In "Chuck Versus Tom Sawyer" the lucky lady that gets to play with Chuck's pocket protector is none other than his ex-girlfriend. Chuck is on at 8 PM on NBC.

Chuck Promo:

The Petrelli clan is all riled up and ready to fight on Heroes this week, and it finally looks like some sense has been smacked into Peter, thanks to his overly dramatic over-the-top Poppy. "Eris Quod Sum" is on NBC at 9 PM.

Heroes Promo:

Heroes Mohinder Behind The Scenes Footage:

No Sarah Connor Chronicles this week.

Christian Slater plays two minds in one body ones and this time the "boring one" is pissed because the "slightly more interesting" personality has endangered his family. My Own Worst Enemy, is on at 10 PM on on NBC.

Go underground with the anime hotties of the future in Gurren Lagann. In this dystopian future, everyone has been forced to live beneath the Earth's surface and they journey to the surface to fight the big bad robots on the Sci Fi Channel at 11 and 11:30 PM.

Movies:

Place your bets now! It's a ridiculous alien throw down on Alien Vs. Predator on FX at 8 PM.

Get your monster-from-the-ocean fill with Godzilla on ABC Family at 9 PM.

Tuesday:

Fringe is not on this week. You'll just have to get your friends to pee themselves for you instead.

Movies:

See all the changes Ridley Scott had in store for his 1979 classic creepfest when Alien the director's cut airs on FMC at 8 PM.

Wednesday:

Mike Tracer gets eaten by a pack of undead — but not before he takes off his shirt and flirts with some lady in a bikini. At least that's what we wish would happen this week on "Knight Of The Living Dead" on Knight Rider on NBC 8 PM.

Movies:

There's a turtle power marathon on ABC Family — at 7 PM, enjoy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles followed by TMNT 2 at 9 PM.

Thursday:

The second class Scooby Gang (Fringe being the first in my book) explores the mysterious disappearances of severely autistic kids in the US on Eleventh Hour. The kids vanish and then reappear with savant syndrome, whatever that is. The episode titled "Savant" is on at 10 PM on CBS.

Promo For Eleventh Hour:

This week in Life On Mars' incredibly long-titled episode, "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows?", we get to meet some members of Sam's family from the past, which is now the present, because he's traveled back in time but not really. (Well, you get the idea.) The American revamp of this British hit is on 10 PM on ABC.

Life On Mars Promo:

Jimmy is causing more trouble by snapping pics of Clark saving Lois, again. Will Clark's "Identity" be revealed this week? I'm guessing no. But if it's got more of hottie Sam Witwer as Doomsday, I'm game. Smallville is on 8 PM on the CW.

Smallville Promo:

Smallville Clips:

Movies:

Tickle the piano keys with another man's severed and possessed hands, courtesy of a mad scientist, in the classic Beast with Five Fingers on TCM at 7:30 AM.

Friday:

There's no new Star Wars: Clone Wars this week.

The new Ben 10: Alien Force has a Galvan named Albedo impersonating Ben complete with his own Omnitrix. But his real goal is to steal Ben's Omni once and for all. Ben is on at 9:30 PM on Cartoon Network.

No Stargate Atlantis or Sanctuary this week but the Sci Fi Channel is hosting an all week marathon of scary movies.

Movies:

You can't celebrate this spooky season successfully without watching Mel Brooks' classic Young Frankenstein at 6 PM on FMC.

Saturday:

This week the Primeval team has to fight a big bad super-predator from the future, on BBC America at 9 PM.

Movies:

Enter the Dino wonderland. All three parts of Dinotopia are airing on the Sci Fi Channel starting at 9 AM.

Sunday:

Bill finally has to pay his vampire wages for having stuck up for Sookie all the time. Plus Lissy Kaplan, the new v juice snorting hippie from Connecticut, is back and making Jason do dumber and and more dangerous things all the time — so all is pretty much the same over at True Blood. This week's True Blood is at 9 PM on HBO.

Movies:

For the love of god, don't stir the oxygen tanks on the Apollo 13! That's airing on the Sci Fi Channel at 3:30 PM.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

More spoilers from an anonymous source. Apparently, Arcee, the female Transformer, doesn't die in the movie — instead, she doesn't show up until later on, and she spends most of her time in robot form instead of her three-motorcycles version. Only one character combines with an Autobot to make a bigger robot. The Constructicon is nine vehicles put together, but it'll only put in a brief appearance. Scorponok is back, and he uses his internal "spark" to restore life to one of the Decepticons. (Gosh, which one could it be?) [Seibertron]

Meanwhile, a guy who knows a guy has a buttload of spoilers. Apparently Soundwave is black, and does not have an Earth mode. (So not only is he not a pick-up truck, he's nothing at all, in Earth terms.) And the Decepticons mention Soundwave during their discussions.

The Constructicons join together to form Devastator more than once. Jetfire starts off as a Destructicon and then changes sides. Also, John Turturro's character dies at last. Optimus Prime "has a scene with a trailer." And Ravage is actually a biological weapon, and there's no Laserbeak. The ice cream truck, the Chevy Volt, and the Hummer HX are not Transformers. And Megatron doesn't return (possibly as a tank) until the end of the movie — when Soundwave resurrects him.

And finally, "the Fallen" is an old Cybertronian legend — it's not one robot but a whole army of robots who are supposed to protect the Cube. When Sam goes bonkers and starts talking gibberish, he's actually reciting Cybertronian hieroglyphics prophesying the return of the Fallen. [TFW2005]

And meanwhile, Transformers Live is casting a bit of doubt on the rumors we reported the other day, including the idea that Jetfire creates wormholes and Soundwave turns into a satellite. [Transformers Live]

Quantum Of Solace:

Still not sure if this movie is science fictional, but here's a tidbit: director Marc Foster said he originally filmed a cliffhanger ending where Bond sees Mr. White, the villain from Casino Royale. That scene will appear on the DVD, but the theatrical version has a tidier ending where James Bond finds his "quantum of solace." [Commander Bond]

Splinter:

I'm way more excited about this indie parasite movie after reading Sci Fi Wire's interview with director Toby Wilkins. The film takes its time to establish the characters so we identify with them and invest in how they deal with the crisis. The fungal parasite isn't from space, it's just always been here. And it "pilots" the human skeleton without any regard for how your joints are supposed to bend, or speed, or gravity, or other concerns. It has two states: dormant (which is like the spines of a sea urchin) and active, where it grows and multiplies and creates new tendons around your skeletal structure. It's basically a dumb animal. [Sci Fi Wire]

Dollhouse:

In the sixth episode of Joss Whedon's programmable amnesiac show, "True Believer," we'll meet Jonas Sparrow, a "charismatic leader of a quasi-Christian religious cult." [SpoilerTV]

Battlestar Galactica:

Edward James Olmos, the master of vague sweeping statements, says the ending of BSG "is like a great book. You love reading it and you want to find out what happens in the story, but you also are so sad it is ending. That's how I feel about Battlestar. It has been a great experience for me. I don't want it to end, but I think the ending is so strong that I am happy to have fans see it. People are going to get their minds blown." Okay.

He also said he's editing the TV movie, and: "You will actually see it come to a conclusion. That's amazing in my eyes because it is such a large story." [EW]

Lost:

Fionnula Flanagan's "creepy ring-seller" is related to a major character, who is not Desmond. Also, Abaddon actor Lance Reddick has been spotted in Hawaii filming the sixth episode of the season. Also, the show is casting a new character named Hal, a 70-something white dude who can "still fight the system and win." Finally, the show is also casting a Czech scientist named Mike, who's on the brink of something big. [EW]

It sounds like Hal and Mike both debut in episode seven. And we'll also meet a barfly named Vicki, who knows how to read a guy "better than he knows himself" and get what she wants. Also in that episode: Rupa, a sweet young Indian professional woman who can be tougher than she appears. She handles difficult customers with "charm and ease." And Nandi, another young Indian, a man who's used to working with difficult people. [SpoilersLost]

Heroes:

According to the new TV Guide, Daphne will go back to the farm in Kansas where she grew up. Matt follows her out to the farm, but he has to convince her dad to let him talk to her. Daphne is hiding a big secret in her bedroom somewhere. And as we've mentioned, an "eclipse" in an upcoming episode makes the heroes lose all their powers. Meanwhile, the title of the first episode of the "Fugitives" storyline is rumored to be called "Clear And Present Danger." [The ODI]

Fringe:

The next new Fringe episode won't air until Nov. 11, and it's called "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones." [SpoilerTV]

That episode is "really intense," says Astrid actor Jasika Nicole. She explains: "Astrid has to commandeer this weird line that they're crossing. It involves one of the members of the team directly, and then someone outside of the team, and they're trying to bridge a gap. It's similar to when Olivia was in the tank and she [communicated with John]." Also, we'll find out at some point why Astrid came back to the lab after Walter attacked and sedated her. One possible theory is that she is Dr. William Bell. [TV Guide]

Also, we'll soon learn whether Peter really has an illness, or whether references to his "medical condition" are part of Walter's paranoia. The answer is "very very interesting," says John Noble. And Peter's devotion to finding the Pattern may not be totally altruistic — he's staying close to something that could be beneficial down the road.

Olivia and Peter aren't going to be getting together any time soon. But meanwhile, Olivia kisses another boy (one we haven't met yet) and she may be open to other romances. She just doesn't have any room in her life for someone like Peter. But Olivia does connect emotionally with Walter, who manages to seem more like a normal middle-aged man and less like a crazy science freak. [E! Online]

My Own Worst Enemy:

OMG, what happens in this split-personality brain-chip show's fourth episode, "That Is Not My Son"? Here's the synopsis:

During Edward’s (Christian Slater) rescue mission to get Raymond (Mike O’Malley) out of captivity, Henry (Slater) wakes up to find himself in the midst of gunfire. Paula (Michelle Krusiec, “What Happens in Vegas”), a fellow operative overhears a panicked Henry put in a call to Mavis (Alfre Woodard), revealing his identity. Henry/Edward’s fate now lies in her hands. Meanwhile, Mary Grady (Missy Yager) finds out that her suspicions about Tom (O’Malley) are true; and a relationship between Dr. Skinner (Saffron Burrows) and Edward is exposed.

And the following episode will be called "The Night Train To Moscow." [SpoilerTV]

Chuck:

Here are some pics from episode six, "Chuck Vs. The Ex." And the following episode will be called "Chuck Vs. The Fat Lady." [ChuckTV]

Suddenly the show's writers are, Crusoe-style, looking for a real life inspiration for their divided hero's plight. Secret agent/explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton brought back the Kama Sutra and had it translated from Sanskrit. Espionage and enlightened sex have always gone swimmingly together. Morgan adopted many disguises as he explored the East, but he never attempted switching between personalities, as Henry Spivey/Edward Albright can no longer do safely in My Own Worst Enemy.

The show made progress towards a Get Smart-like tone in this episode, with a Roxanne-style comedy sequence to open the night's festivities properly. Slater himself is growing into the main role — his background as a stage actor gives him an adaptive resource to fill the space where Kiefer Sutherland breathes heavy.

The show's major problem right now is that it can't stop casting character actors. Fellow agent Mike O'Malley struggles as the two-faced control for Spivey's wackier experiment, and James Cromwell and Alfre Woodard angle for screentime. Next week's mix promises an FBI agent - how many masters can one agent serve? Can Patton Oswalt as a rebellious code-breaker be far behind? When the stunt casting does work, this show gives itself a chance - Slater is so much better when he has someone high energy to play off of.

While hunting terrorists with creative names like Mohammed El Aziz is both boring and potentially ripped off from 24, Edward Albright's methods have entered the realm of the fantastic with painful red needles against white interrogation walls. Plus, his dark side's bedroom technique is improving his sex life and giving his alter-ego's wife a reason not to stick her head in the oven. Having shown enough to stick around for a third episode, let's hope Edward Albright has moved onto the M's part of the Kama Sutra from H for Hummingbird by now. If nothing else, then for his poor exhausted wife's sake.

Wolverine:

So now that Ryan Reynolds is playing Deadpool, the merc with a mouth, in the new Wolverine movie, how will Deadpool look? Fox chairman Tom Rothman says Deadpool is "an integral part" of the movie, and a lot of CG work is being done to make him look as state-of-the-art and perfect as possible. Does that mean Deadpool will have his trademark scarring? Rothman just says the fans will be very happy with the result. [IESB]

Quantum Of Solace:

Is the new James Bond movie more science fiction-y than the last one? A new video interview with the movie's VFX designer will not fill you with optimism on that score, although it does look cool. [IGN]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

New location snaps reveal that not only are Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox on set at the "Boneyard" of dead military planes, but John Turturro (Agent Simmons) and Ramon Rodriguez (new character Leo) are there too. [OnLocationNews via TFW2005]

Fringe:

We'll learn more about Peter's shadowy past. We'll meet a "knockabout" woman in her thirties, who warns Peter that people are after him. And a tough guy in his thirties who's actually after Peter. Plus a third character, a pudgy guy in his fifties with "a killer's eyes." All three could become recurring roles. [EW]

And here's a new TV Guide cover featuring the show:

Doctor Who:

This year's Christmas special is "smaller" and "more intimate" than the previous whiz-bang entries, says Russell T. Davies. But "the ending is ferociously huge." And RTD hints that he needed a familiar enemy, like the Cybermen, to help facilitate the more intimate storyline. (Presumably because you don't have to set them up as much.) [Planet Gallifrey]

Heroes:

So is Ando really dead? Nah. That footage we showed ages ago of Hiro in a magic shop? It was Hiro looking for a fake blood pack and a trick sword so he could "stab" Ando. I know, it's shocking. [The ODI]

Also, last week's jaunt to the future, with waffle-making Sylar, is probably the last trip to the future that we'll see any time soon. Either Maury or Arthur knew Hiro would be opening the safe and sent Daphne to grab the formula at the right moment. The father of Isaac the painter is not dead, and we could still see Isaac again. We'll learn more about the Haitian and his family in episodes 10 and 11. And we still will learn who's the mother of Sylar's kid, but the answer may surprise us. [The ODI again]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Looks like Kendra Shaw is getting sex-ay on Monday's Terminator episode:

My Own Worst Enemy:

As the episodes go on, the transitions between nice Henry and naughty Edward will get faster and faster, and he'll be switching back and forth in the same scene. [SpoilerTV]

Chuck:

We got hold of a bunch of script pages (for casting) from episode 13, the one with the cocky rock star, Tyler Martin. Tyler has just come back from Africa, and some of his new CDs have a secret ticket to a special concert he's playing, which will be filmed in 3-D. Tyler plays an in-store event at the Buy More, and his manager asks for a buffer between Tyler and the nerds. Casey stabs Tyler with his Buy More pen, tranquilizing him so they can drag him away for questioning.

Tyler pees in a fountain outside, and remarks on what a great restroom this is, because the ceiling looks just like the night sky. Chuck tells Tyler the record company hired him to keep him safe, and tries to convince him to stay put, but Tyler says it's "party night" and drags Chuck along. Tyler tosses Chuck's phone in the fountain. Tyler winds up talking Chuck into going partying, promising to be the greatest wing man ever. Chuck gets surrounded with beautiful women. Tyler tells Chuck to "taste the many flavors of the world," and shows Chuck his many tattoos in various languages, commemorating the amazing things he's done.

Meanwhile, Morgan says he has an extra ticket to the Tyler Martin premiere, and it would normally go to his best friend Chuck, but Chuck isn't into Tyler Martin. So Jeff and Lester have the opportunity to compete to be Morgan's "vice best friend" and go with Morgan. They have to compete by wearing 3-D glasses, and the one who takes them off last wins. They get woozier and woozier.

Tyler tells all the hot women that Chuck writes all his songs, and is a great bass player and a gifted lover. Meanwhile, Tyler is in danger from Achmed the Super Fan, who has a trench coat lined with grenades.

In one scene, Chuck warns Tyler not to go into a bedroom with some bodacious groupies, because they're really assassins. Tyler shoves Chuck in there, because Chuck needs the action more than he does. Chuck asks the "vixens" if he can go splash water on his face, and they say sure as long as he leaves his pants behind. So Chuck leaves his pants, but then the vixens wind up throwing a dagger at him and he ends up on the window ledge talking to Sarah on the phone.

And later, our heroes are looking for the bad guy who's out to harm Tyler, and they think they can recognize him by his trademark trench coat — but the bad guy gives identical trenchcoats to a dozen or so teenage fans, along with free tickets to Tyler's concert.

Achmed the Super Fan finally tracks down Chuck and Tyler, and Chuck says he knows all about the connection between Tyler's tattoos and the enriched uranium that Achmed is trying to sell. (Achmed used Tyler's foreign-language tattoos to move important secrets around the world.) Chuck threatens to send an email unless Achmed hands over the gun. Achmed complies, but then has a retractable knife to stab Chuck with. Tyler saves Chuck and they run away, and they wind up running out on stage, where Tyler's band starts to play because they see their frontman. Finally, Casey and Sarah get Achmed, and Tyler plays his concert.

In the end, Casey tells Tyler he has to get his fancy tattoos removed, and Tyler agrees. Tyler tells Chuck they can party together any time, and Chuck says it's not his scene. Tyler tells Sarah he threw every beautiful woman in the world at Chuck, but all Chuck did was talk about Sarah. She is stunned. [Casting pages]

Smallville:

In the eagerly awaited Legion of Super-Heroes episode written by Geoff Johns, the Legionnaires who show up are the same three who appeared in the LSH's first ever appearance: Garth, Imra and Rokk, with powers of electricity, telepathy and magnetism respectively. The reason they've traveled back to our time is because of Brainiac taking over Chloe. Eventually, Clark and the Legion work together to separate Chloe from her Brainiac side. [Kryptonsite]

Crossing over the apparently-serious My Own Worst Enemy with comedic Chuck may not seem to make sense at first mention, but think about it for a second, and it becomes obvious that both shows are, essentially, telling the same story - That of a everyday working schlub who happens to have an exciting double life as a spy that no-one but he knows about, and the perils and hijinks that ensue from trying to make sure that that stays the case. So why not let the two shows crossover?

(Actually, if it were up to me - and this is where the world becomes happy that I'm not in charge of television - I'd include the Berkut Group in there as well, and tie up any and all loose ends from Bionic Woman, which was in many ways the same show as My Own Worst Enemy but with less direction and a less compelling lead character. And, given how bland Christian Slater's two characters are, that's saying something.)

Instead of the two series getting their dramatic peanut butter in someone else's comedy chocolate or whatever, cross-pollinating the two shows could help fill in the gaps of each; Chuck could try to gain some gravitas from the self-important Worst Enemy, while anyone who saw the pilot of Christian Slater's spy crew knows firsthand how much that series could do with some light relief that isn't "Hey, you fucked my wife, other-identity-me!" Also, temporarily merging the two shows would also give each series a chance to show their differences as much as their similarities - as well as give NBC a chance for a PR stunt that would draw some much-needed attention to the two Monday Night Boy Spy hours. It could be the quasi-dramatic version of that night when a blackout affected Friendsand lots of other shows that no-one remembers.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Here's a piece of Decepticon concept art that showed up on the Superhero Hype forums. Fans are already calling it fake, but just in case it's not, here you go. [Superhero Hype]

And here's video of Bumblebee on the set at the Boneyard. Meanwhile, the film, possibly including its stars, was just filming at the Naval base in Coronado, in a sequence involving (wait for it) huge explosions. [Transformers Live]

The Day The Earth Stood Still:

And here's a new international poster for the Earth Stood Still remake, featuring a very, very airbrushed Keanu. [IESB]

Dragonball:

The Dragonball fan blog has some descriptions of publicity shots that haven't been released yet. Among the interesting tidbits: Goku rides some kind of three- or four-wheeled bike/buggy. Goku is out on the street, chomping on a giant turkey/chicken drumstick. (Thrilling!)

More interestingly, Piccolo fights Goku, and Piccolo's armor is ribbed (for your pleasure), strapped on the side. Piccolo wears weird black leather gloves and has a long sword with a square end. Over this armor, Piccolo wears a reddish brown billowy hooded cloak, with a shiny pink lining. Also, Piccolo looks pale in all the pictures, but "he looks like he has moss forming in his crevices," giving him a greenish tinge. (The innuendo just writes itself.) Oh, and Piccolo has "a bad case of black ear-wax." (??) [dbthemovie]

Dollhouse:

The fifth episode of Joss Whedon's brainwashed agent show features a character named Joel Mynor, a client of the Dollhouse who lost his wife several years ago. He and Echo share a beautiful night together.

And there are some casting script pages for the episode, which are not from the episode's actual script. But they may still be pretty close. It sounds as though one of the mindwiped "Actives" raped another one — the victim may be Sierra. She doesn't remember anything useful, but she's crying at night. Bicks, a fill-in "handler", says he hopes Victor won't remember anything anyway. He asks regular handler Boyd if Sierra is broken, and Boyd says they all are.

And there's a reporter doing a news segment on the pervasive stories about the Dollhouse. And he does tons and tons of person-on-the-street interviews about it. He interviews a businessman and a checkout girl, who both think it would be great to be a doll. And a conspiracy nut who thinks everyone's already mind-controlled, and a housewife who fantasizes about what she would hire a doll to do. And a "large black woman" who says people will always need slaves, and nobody "volunteers" to be a slave unless they're already one. And a mousy girl who is alarmed at the idea. And an old guy who would have wanted his own mind-controlled Betty Grable back in the day.

There's also a blue-collar guy who talks about how everybody's got a fantasy, and for some guys it might be nice to be try being with another man, knowing the other guy won't remember about it afterwards. The blue-collar guy's wife is shocked. And a professor who explains why memory erasure wouldn't work, or would drive the subject insane — plus this technology would end the human race if it existed. And a sketchy guy who's heard rumors. And a teenage girl who thinks it could be beautiful to have someone be the perfect person for a while. And a woman in jeans who says it's human trafficking, end of story. (Wow, that's a lot of person-on-the-street interviews for one episode.) [SpoilerTV]

Lost:

Sounds like Hurley's going to be spending some time on a boat at sea. I'm still wondering what happens to Hurley after he gets badly injured in the scenes they were filming a couple weeks back, by the way. [Doc Arzt]

Heroes:

According to Brea Grant, we'll see more of Daphne and Matt together soon. And we find out tonight whom Daphne is working for. The turtle will be around for a while and will outlast some cast members. And we'll see more of Daphne's emotional side. Speaking of which, here are some pics from upcoming episodes which show an Elle/Claire catfight. And it looks like Arthur is still in his hospital bed next week, despite being up and about this week. (Maybe Adam heals him?) [The ODI]

Were you wondering why Claire's bio-mom was such a psycho with her "let me teach you fighting skills by suffocating you in a metal container" trick? Me too. Maybe this interview can help explain. [TV Guide]

Torchwood:

As we mentioned before, Torchwood turned its "Hub" set in Cardiff into a giant crater, and there were huge fireballs and stuff. Paramedics had to grab Gwen and drag her away from the debris. Also, people witnessed the filming of scenes where Gwen drives an ambulance and then falls out of it. And new castmember Lisa drives a military jeep with a trooper. Here are some more pics. [Wales Online and Alun.Vega via Planet Gallifrey]

Meanwhile, here are some more location reports. Rhys' gray car is parked on the curb, and Rhys runs up, throws a backpack into it and yells for Gwen. She runs up and shoots at a Land Rover full of troopers, plus her old pal PC Andy. She jumps in the car and shouts "Just go!" and then Rhys drives off. In anohter sequence, Ianto runs away from a security guard who shoots at him. [Paul Mount, via Planet Gallifrey again]

Life On Mars:

Just like in the British version, Life On Mars will show Sam interacting with his own mom in the past. Here's the synopsis of "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows?":

Sam is unwillingly but hypnotically pulled back into his childhood when he becomes entangled in local gangster Nick Profaci's assault on a young, beautiful woman. Sam is amazed to discover that the woman, who is oddly familiar to him, is actually his mother back in 1973. While he anxiously attempts to save her, he uncovers two unsolved murders of women that possibly point to the involvement of Profaci and his mob boss, Elliot Casso's. But even more alarming is the discovery that members of the 1-2-5 - including Lt. Hunt - may be mixed up with Casso and his crew and may have prevented justice from being carried out

[SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

In episode 7, "Identity," after Jimmy snaps a blurry image of Clark saving Lois at super-speed, he shows it to Tess, who decides to run it on the front page of the Daily Planet. (Newspapers love blurry images of indistinct blobs, it's a known fact.) Clark asks Chloe to run interference with Jimmy, but she refuses. [Smallville Spoilers]

And actor Cassidy Freeman explains more about Tess, our emergency Lex substitute. [BuddyTV]

My Own Worst Enemy:

I'm sort of fascinated with this evil-brain-microchip show, launching this week. In the second episode, Henry goes to see a doctor because he's convinced "they" put something in his head. Later, the doctor calls back to say Henry's fears were justified — but it's the evil Edward who answers the phone. Ooh. And in the third episode, a friend of Henry's turns up dead. The FBI comes to ask Henry about his company, and Henry starts to tell them about where he works. The FBI guys are like, no, the other place. [SpoilerFix]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

If Shirley Manson gets her way, her liquid metal Terminator will get laid soon. (Apart from that little alleyway hookup she had last week.) She says, "Apparently, I am capable of having sex. They've got the mechanics for it. And I can just have better sex because I'm more highly evolved. My technique's better. I'd love to see some robot sex." [NME]

Chuck:

Someone posted incredibly detailed synopses of the next two Chuck episodes over at Zachary-Levi.com. Like, every detail. In a nutshell, in tonight's episode, "Chuck vs. the Break-Up," Chuck gets jealous when he sees Bryce and Sarah together (continued from last week.) We see a flashback of Sarah and Bryce together on a mission, back when they were dating and pretending to be a married couple on assignment, hiding from bad guys.

Now Bryce and Sarah have to pretend to be a married couple again to track down a rich guy who has a microchip containing the identities of a ton of undercover agents. Chuck has to be a waiter (as you've probably seen) and feels jealous watching Bryce and Sarah do too good a job of "playing" a couple. Chuck blows his cover, just he spots the chip on the rich guy's keychain, plus a Fulcrum agent nearby. Then there's an explosion and Sarah gets hurt protecting Chuck.

Both Chuck and Bryce bring flowers to Sarah in the hospital. Captain Awesome tells Bryce that Sarah and Chuck are serious about each other, which Awesome knows because he's an expert on the human heart. Bryce tells Chuck he's worried that Sarah's feelings for Chuck will compromise her safety. Chuck says she can look after herself.

Chuck arranges to hand over some money in exchange for the chip, but it all goes wrong. Sarah has a chance to shoot a Fulcrum agent, but hesitates because she can't risk hitting Chuck. Totally proving Bryce's point. Casey shows up and saves the day. Later, Bryce tells Chuck will do the right thing, because he always does. And Bryce insists on leaving Chuck his special spy glasses. Finally, Chuck breaks up with Sarah because they can never have a future together, especially since he'll never know the real Sarah, and she'll always be off quelling a revolution in Guatemala using a spoon when he wants to tell her the dumb thing Morgan did today. She tells him one day, when the Intersect is out of his head, he'll forget all about her. He doubts that. Chuck puts on Bryce's spy glasses and gets an update to the Intersect.

Meanwhile, there's that whole subplot about the jocks who are using the media room at the Buy More. Morgan can't stand up to them, so he cuts the power to the media room when they're in there. They say they'll kick Morgan's ass after work, so he hides out in the Buy More all night. The next day, Morgan finally gets his courage up to face the jocks in a "cage match," but Anna saves his ass, kicking their butts with a camera tripod. Casey considers recruiting Anna as an agent.

And then in next week's episode, "Chuck Vs. The Cougars," we see some flashbacks to teenage Sarah when her con-man daddy was arrested and she dug up a box of money her dad put aside for her in case of an emergency. Then we meet Heather (Nicole Richie) who went to high school with Sarah — whose real name is Jenny Bourton. Chuck comes over to find out as much as he can about Sarah's real past, and then he flashes on Heather's husband. He makes a dinner date for himself and Sarah with Heather and her husband. Sarah is pissed, but then it turns out Heather's husband is going to sell some bombing jet plans to some bad people.

At dinner, some goons try to beat up Mark (Heather's husband) but Casey stops them. Mark was in the stall hiding out, so he thinks Chuck stopped the goons by himself. They arrange for Mark to hand over the plans to the bad guys at Sarah and Heather's high school reunion. There, we discover that Sarah was not quite so pretty in high school. Chuck and co. think a slimy jock who hit on Sarah after her dad was arrested is the guy buying the plans. But it turns out he just wants to sell them drugs or something. Instead, it's actually Nicole Richie, who orders assassins to kill her own husband as well as Chuck, now that her cover is blown.

Sarah beats the crap out of Nicole Richie and comes out of the bathroom all messed up, just in time to be named reunion queen. Later Chuck brings Sarah a cheeseburger to help her recover, and says she seems like she was just a normal high school kid. We see one last flashback, of the guy who got Sarah's dad arrested, recruiting her for the CIA. And Sarah says she'll answer one of Chuck's questions about her past. But he says he doesn't care any more about her past, he just knows who she is know: someone he'd like to share a cheeseburger with. [Zachary-Levi.com]

Also, there's a casting call for episode 13, "Chuck vs. The Third Dimension," which could be the actual 3-D episode. Chuck has to protect a handsome rock-and-roll superstar, Tyler Martin. Along the way, he meets Achmed, a dangerous, handsome Libyan. And two or more "Vixens," who are like Bond girls. [SpoilerTV]

Knight Rider:

Okay, I know what's going on here. The reason why some of you guys are not so excited about Knight Rider is because there hasn't been an appearance by KARR, the amoral robot car. First featured in the episode "Trust Doesn't Rust" (so true!) KARR is the original prototype of KITT, but he's too obsessed with self-preservation and will kill his human occupants if it suits his purposes. In the twelfth episode of Knight Rider, "Knight To King's Pawn," KITT is stolen, so his dangerous robotic counterpart, KARR, can be reactivated.

Who's behind the theft? Jack Hurst, a 40-something "badass NSA commander" who used to be in charge of Knight Industries' funding. He sweeps in with his task force, disables the KITT Cave, removes KITT's chip and steals KITT for his own evil purposes. Michael turns to his buddy Wendell Holmes, an African American weapons expert who helps Michael put together some non-lethal weapons to fight the military with.

At one point, the nerdy Billy poses as a journalist and immerses himself in a video game. Eleven-year-old video game fan Cody Sandstrom tells Billy to get a life. Also, there's a big stupid guy who hits on Sarah at a nightclub and doesn't take rejection well. [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Premiering tomorrow night on NBC and available right now on iTunes, My Own Worst Enemy is a hard show to recommend. Set at A.J. Sun Consulting (who no doubt have an office located right next to Massive Dynamic somewhere in TV land), Slater's two personalities - Henry Spivey and Edward Albright - are managed by a crack team including Alfre Woodard, comedian Mike O'Malley, and Wing Commander's Safron Burrows.

Slater's Henry-Edward combo may not be that far away from Robert Louis Stevenson's original story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in terms of name and concept, but the pilot captured nothing of the frightening prospect of Stevenson's struggle against losing ourself to evil. The main problem so far is that the two characters aren't even all that different. The distinctions consist primarily of their respective automobile's country of origin - everything else, including the relative beauty and attitude of their sexual partners, is in line. It's frustrating to see no evidence of the supposedly mean and snarly version of 39 year old Slater, although surely we'll be able to tell the difference between them other than by how much Slater is squinting, right?

There's no telling exactly what audience the Slater version is courting; My Own Worst Enemy is somewhere between the last soul-killing season of 24 and Mission Impossible, only without the budget for awesome face-mimicking masks. The visual composition of the show is really its only appeal, so expect the show's action elements to try to win viewers with big 'splosions while the little details get lost.

Ghostbusters 3:

Bill Murray doesn't know much about the new Ghostbusters sequel storyline, but he really wants there to be a female ghostbuster. This may or may not be part of a scenario where the old gang hands off the mantle to a new group of ghostbusters, but either way, Murray thinks there are some funny women out there, who could join the crew. Start the write-in campaign for Tina Fey now! [MTV Movies]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

New photos of the shooting at the "Boneyard" don't reveal much, except a whole mess of military planes, and Bumblebee on set. More pics at the link.[Mentallapse via Seibertron]

Our sister blog Jalopnik also had some pics of the shooting, and put a name to the Chevy Beat: it'll be a Transformer known as Skids. More pics at link. [Jalopnik]

Another eyewitness says Sideswipe and the blue Chevy Volt were also there, along with the red-and-green Chevy Trax. And they filmed a scene with a giant sheet of metal (possibly a stand-in for something) with a booming voice coming from it that sounded like Megatron or Jetfire, sounding really pissed off and loud. [Transformers Live]

Quarantine:

Wow, this movie sounds better and better. Star Jennifer Carpenter says she has tons of scenes where she runs around screaming, and the director kept telling her "More! More!" She plays a news reporter, who's doing a puff piece on local firefighters but then gets trapped in a building with a bunch of people suffering a mutant strain of rabies. [Sci Fi Wire]

And here are some more cast interviews. [IGN]

Lost:

So why do all of the Oceanic Six have to return to the island? It's not a mystical thing, it's pure science, according to Ben actor Michael Emerson. And now sources are claiming that the reason all six of the escapees are needed is because they must fan out to a set of Dharma Initiative stations all over the planet. These stations are the key to getting back to the island, which has been transported in space and/or time. And we may already have seen one of these stations before. [E! Online]

Meanwhile, the show is casting a character named Hajer, a Tunisian local "doctor" who may not have a medical degree, but has the experience to cope with whatever the harsh desert throws at him. He has a tough bedside manner but knows how to get the job done. [SpoilersLost]

Heroes:

Jack Coleman, who plays HRG, says his partnership with Sylar will get broken up during the "Villains" story arc, but they'll come back together in a dramatic way towards the end of the arc. Their partnership is a major part of the "Villains" storyline. And it doesn't sound as though HRG is ever going to be getting superpowers, except maybe temporarily. [BuddyTV]

In Monday's episode of Heroes, Peter Petrelli is so desperate, he can't even afford a shirt any more. And this upsets his mom. Luckily, he gets to have homoerotic incesty violence with his bro Sylar. Here are the pics to prove it. [Heroes Spoilers]

And here's a new promo that shows Arthur Petrelli in his full naughtiness. [Filipino Video Blogger]

Smallville:

This year, Chloe is caught between her good-girl Jimmy's bride persona and her dark side, which is drawn to Davis Bloome and wants to destroy stuff, because of the Brainiac inside her. You won't see as much of Clark and Chloe investigating stuff together — it'll be more Clark and Lois doing that. And Chloe definitely does marry Jimmy, but it's rumored that she dies and gets resurrected afterwards, or something. [TV Guide]

My Own Worst Enemy:

Here's a look into the cast of the new show about the guy with a faulty microchip in his brain, put there by the same guys who put a spy database in Chuck's brain. (I wonder if the two shows will ever cross over?) Sorry, video is U.S.-only, because NBC hates foreigners. [NBC]

Life On Mars:

The show's seventh episode will be called "The Man Who Sold The World." [SpoilerTV]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Remember those script pages for episode 13 we reviewed yesterday? More information about that episode has come up, by way of another casting call. The show is definitely casting a "crossdresser" character named Mark/Eileen, who is totally convincing as a woman, and looks good as a dude. (This is the person who says at one point that "they" killed Mark, and freed him/her up to stop living such a repressed life. Presumably meaning the machines.) We also meet a "kindly hypnotherapist" named Barbara, a warehouse clerk named Ed Winston, a religious leader named Pastor Jonas and a science nerd named Pete. [SpoilerTV]

Knight Rider:

Here's the official description for episode seven. We reviewed a huge chunk of this episode's script a while back.

A CRIMINAL COUPLE WITH CONGRESSIONAL TIES THREATENS TO REVEAL THE SECRETS OF KNIGHT INDUSTRIES — Knight Industries is hot on the trail of a Bonnie & Clyde-esque criminal couple, only to discover their true identities have a serious impact on a national congressional race. As the mission unfolds, Mike (Justin Bruening) and KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer) are forced into action to save Agent Rivai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier).

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

The seven Constructicons that will merge to form the super-robot Devastator are a red O&K/Tyrex hydraulic mining excavator, a yellow Caterpillar wheel loader, a green Caterpillar dump truck, a silver/white Mack cement mixer, a red Komatsu articulated dump truck, a yellow Kobelco truss crane and a beige Caterpillar bulldozer. That's according to an inside source. [TFW2005]

Lost:

As you'd gathered, Hurley is spending a lot of time with Ben, who does most of the talking — but Hurley hasn't quite come around yet to feeling like he should get back to the island. And Hurley is still talking to dead people, but it doesn't even faze him any more. Also, Jorge Garcia doesn't know if the Oceanic Six will ever become friends again. [E! Online]

Doctor Who:

I can't tell if this is fanfic or a genuine unfounded rumor — but either way, people are hinting that Patrick Stewart isn't actually playing the Meddling Monk on Doctor Who. Instead, he's playing Rassilon, founder of Time Lord society. [PlanetGallifrey]

Life On Mars:

The American remake of the British time-travel cop show has a plan for its complex mythology of why/how Sam Tyler ended up in 1973. The producers already know where it's going to end up, and they know what's really going on with Sam. So even though they have a million options besides the "Sam's in a coma" option, they do have an ending in mind. Really. Also, the show takes place on the lower East side. Also, Phyllis may not show up in the pilot, but you'll see her eventually. Oh, and the thing of Sam's girlfriend Maya being abducted in 2008 will be resolved early in the show's run. We won't be dealing with any time paradoxes or worries about Sam changing his own past, or anything like that.

Oh, and that thing in the second episode, where Sam writes down 13 options for what's happened to him on a blackboard? He actually only thinks of 12 options. The 13th is a question mark. "That's the one he hasn't thought of yet. That's the one that scares him most of all. It's stuff like he's alternating on two separate planes of reality at the same time, that kind of thing, and in the second episode you'll see the full list of options," says producer Josh Appelbaum. [Sci Fi Weekly]

My Own Worst Enemy:

Superspy Edward Albright starts switching back to his "normal" identity, suburban family man Henry Spivey, at crucial moments, like in the middle of a fight. That's because the microchip in Henry/Edward's brain has started to break down and the two personalities are starting to merge. Which spells chaos! The two personalities start communicating, like by writing stuff on their hands. And later they find more high-tech ways of communicating. (Message boards?) Also, Edward speaks 13 languages. (But one of them is a question mark. Just kidding.) Henry is more in touch with his heart, while Edward is the opposite. [Sci Fi Wire]

Eureka:

The show about the super-genius town put out some casting pages for episode 11, featuring Tess Fontana, a mad scientist. Sheriff Carter and Tess wind up turning intangible and invisible. At first, Carter thinks they're dead — but they can still touch each other, and there are no other ghosts around. Tess wants to take advantage of the opportunity to moon Allison. Later, she enlists the aid of H.J. Johnson — who detests her scientific heterodoxy — to use a toaster to bring her and Carter back to the third dimension. [Casting pages]

Heroes:

At least one recurring character on Heroes won't survive to the end of the season. There are only, like, 27 characters to choose among. [E! Online]

And here's the official blurb for episode 7, "Eris Quod Sum":

Trapped and terrified, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) and Tracy (Ali Larter) fight for their lives against a much-changed, monstrous Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) to free themselves, Maya (Dania Ramirez) and the doctor’s other “test subjects.” Elle (guest star Kristen Bell) returns, with a shock for Claire (Hayden Panettiere) and her family. Meanwhile, aware of Peter’s (Milo Ventimiglia) ruthless take down by her rivals at Pinehearst, Angela (Cristine Rose) reaches out to convince Sylar (Zachary Quinto) to save his brother. Since he won’t sign up with the Villains, Daphne (guest star Brea Grant) is ordered by her boss to go back and kill Matt (Greg Grunberg) — or be killed herself. While in awe of the African precog’s power, Hiro (Masi Oka) still questions Usutu’s (guest star Ntare Mwine) advice on how to best face his gathering opponents.

[SpoilerTV]

That thing we mentioned before, about how Hiro gets regressed to ten years old and forgets everything that's happened? Apparently it's the doing of the Haitian, who messes with his brain. Ando has to help Hiro get his head back together and remember how to use his powers. Ando is like the Obi-Wan to Hiro's Luke. And it's all an excuse for Hiro to say "Yatta!" again. Yeah, I know. Oh, and we don't know why Future Ando killed Future Hiro — which one of them was evil? Only the Future knows. [E! Online]

In episode eight of the new season, we see a bit more of how HRG put all those villains away in the first place. And we see how HRG and Elle were complicit in creating Sylar. There's a whole HRG-Elle backstory that we haven't seen yet. Can you wait? I cannot wait! [BuddyTV]

We don't really see Hiro or Ando interacting with the other season one heroes until episodes eight or nine, and then Hiro interacts with ones he didn't really see that much of before. And in next week's episode, Claire and HRG have a showdown, as you might have guessed from the trailer, and Claire ends up bonding with Sylar while they fight the Vortex villain. Also, not only does Nathan take Tracy home to confront his mom, he uncovers the shocking secret of another hero. And Arthur Petrelli has been conspiring with another hero's father. (Parkman?) [E! Online again]

Not enough Heroes spoilers? Here's a bit more. Episode 12 is called "Our Father," and it includes two characters traveling back in time to that moment on a rooftop where Kaito Nakamura gave baby Claire to HRG. The Niki/Tracy mess doesn't involve clones. Parkman's dad, Maury, was locked up in Level 5 when everyone escaped, so we'll be seeing him again. By episode nine, we'll know all about Peter, Nathan and Sylar's powers, and if their powers are related somehow. Isaac's dad, Carlos Mendez, is one of the Company's founders. Not all the founders' kids are related, but there is one "genetic trend." (Huh?) Peter can use Jesse's shouty power. Claire's biological mom is immune to all types of fire. Your favorite webisode character, Postie, will appear in episode 13, "War." We'll see the first time Sylar ever killed, in episode eight. Hiro gets to hang out with that African turtle in episode 10. And before the end of Volume 3, we'll learn Hiro's mother's powers. [Heroes News And Spoilers]

Smallville:

Here's the official blurb for episode six, "Prey":

Clark looks into a recent attack in a theater that may be the work of a serial killer. Suspecting it could be someone who is meteor-infected, he demands that Chloe release the names of the people she is counseling at the Isis Foundation, which causes a rift between the friends. Davis fears that his blackouts could mean that he is the serial killer and collects evidence that may implicate him. Fearing the worst, he confesses his suspicions to Chloe.

[Smallville Spoilers]

Clark is going to be getting edgier and saving the world. And Lois may have some angst when Lana comes back, because she's starting to realize how much she actually feels for Clark. And some smouldering will happen between Lois and Clark. [TV Guide]

Chuck:

Here's a red-carpet interview with the cast of Chuck. [BuddyTV]

Stargate Atlantis:

In episode 18, "Identity," Keller's body gets taken over by someone else's mind, and people eventually figure it out. But the team finds that if they try to kill the occupying entity, Jennifer will die too. And in episode 19, "Vegas," not only is Sheppard a cop, but Woolsey is an FBI agent. [SpoilerTV]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

In this Friday's episode, "Shadow of Malevolence," Anakin, Ahsoka and Plo Koon launch Y-wing bombers to try and destroy General Grievous' warship, the Malevolence, and its destructive ion cannon. And the Y-wing bombers are new and shiny, instead of the dinged up things you see in Episodes Four and Five. [Warner Bros.]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Star Trek:

Cover your ears, Trek purists: writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman said they wanted to "bring more Star Wars into Star Trek," and director J.J. Abrams is more of a Wars fan than a Trek fan. They hasten to add it's the "original Star Wars," not the prequels. So what do they mean? It sounds like they mean the crazy space battles and high-speed action, as opposed to Trek, which "becomes very stately." At the same time, they respect that old-school Trek is like "sub battles," and they want to keep that as well. They also describe the movie as "an epic space adventure."

Oh, and another reasons for Trek purists to avert their eyes. Orci warns that:

There's going to be a debate when this movie comes out whether or not it's consistent with canon. We argue that it is. But there's literally nothing we can say about this movie. Even if we think it's not controversial, people will say, "Oh, that's convenient, they're covering a story that's never been covered before instead of dealing with canon."

If you're one of those people who actually cares about "canon," it's never a good sign to be told there will be "some debate." [Wired]

More hints that Simon Pegg's Scotty gets a lot of scenes with Leonard Nimoy's Old Spock. (Old Spock should be the name of a whiskey. Or maybe a deodorant. Which do you think?) [The Sun]

Watchmen:

When the Comedian is killed, the fight is intercut with images from his TV screen, a version of the McLaughlin Group talk show, with an actor playing Pat Buchanan. (I bet the real Pat would have done it.) [Hollywood Newsroom]

Also, there are three Bob Dylan songs in the movie, including "The Times They Are A-Changin'," which plays over the credits sequence. Could Rorschach be the final cylon? [IGN]

Blindness:

MTV posted a couple of images from the adaptation of Jose Saramago's novel, which opens today. Here's one of them, and a higher res version and the other version are at the link. [MTV]

Battlestar Galactica:

The BSG TV movie, "The Plan," just wrapped shooting, ending up with a "complex outdoor location shoot" in a Vancouver suburb, involving lots of explosions and many extras. (I'm guessing this was set on Caprica? Or Kobol? Or maybe New Caprica?) From the hints Aaron Douglas has dropped, the TV movie goes all the way from season one up to season four. [13th Colony]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

That clip we showed of John Connor shouting his name at a Terminator? Looks like it happens on Monday. I love this SCC/Prison Break joint trailer. [TV Spoilers Center]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Another write-up claims the Clone Wars TV series will be better than the movie. For one thing, you won't see Uncle Ziro in tonight's new episodes. And Yoda's mission to Toydaria includes more explorations of clone identity. (I love saying Toydaria.) In the second episode, General Grievous' droids kill survivors of the attack by carving holes in their escape pods. And don't assume Ahsoka will die by the end of the series — Dave Filoni says her fate will be as surprising as Luke turning out to be Darth Vader's son. (Maybe she'll transform into Aunt Beru?) [Chicago Sun Times]

Dollhouse:

How is Joss Whedon's amnesiac puppet show going to be like Buffy? Joss answers. (This same annoying interview also interviews J.J. Abrams about Fringe, and you can watch J.J. cringe. It's at the Flickr page.)

My Own Worst Enemy:

Here's the plot synopsis for episode three of this spy-brainwashing show, "Hello Henry.":

Edward (Christian Slater) is tasked by Mavis (Alfre Woodard) to go to Mexico in order attain schematics to Russia's next generation nuclear bomb and finds himself double-crossed. Meanwhile Henry (Slater) agrees to meet with an inquiring FBI Agent (guest star Tim Kelleher, "Flash of Genius") after discovering Edward inadvertently put his daughter Ruthy (Bella Thorne) in danger. Tom's (Mike O'Malley) wife Mary Grady (Missy Yager, "Boston Public") hires a P.I. after she begins to suspect Tom's many business trips are really something more.

[SpoilerTV]

Lost:

Jack, Ben and Sayid were filming a scene at Hawaii Medical Center East, aka St. Francis. Jack was in his Ford Bronco, and Sayid and Ben were in their blue carpet-cleaning van. And an ambulance was also parked out front. (Man, I'm worried about Hurley now!) Jack is on the phone, then he learns that something or someone is somewhere else, and they need to get over there "right now." Jack jumps into his truck. But Sayid and Ben hang back and have an intense conversation. At one point, Sayid stands on some sandbags so he can meet Ben eye-to-eye. (Ha.) Then Sayid gets behind the wheel and Ben rides shotgun. They drive off. Here's a pic, and there are more here. [Hawaii Weblog]

Heroes:

Another casting call for volume four, "Fugitives." The show is seeking a military pilot involved in a top-secret government operation, to appear in episodes 14 and 15. (Could this have something to do with yesterday's storyboard, showing Nathan at an aircraft hangar?) [SpoilerTV]

Meanwhile, here's the official description of episode six, "Dying Of The Light":

AS HIRO (MASI OKA) AND OTHERS SEIZE UPON OFFERS TO JOIN RIVAL COMPANY PINEHEARST INDUSTRIES, PETER (MILO VENTIMIGLIA) IS FOREVER CHANGED BY A MEETING WITH ITS SHOCKING FOUNDER — CLAIRE (HAYDEN PANETTIERE) AND HER MOM SANDRA (GUEST STAR ASHLEY CROW) TEAM UP TO SAVE MEREDITH (JESSALYN GILSIG) FROM DOYLE’S (DAVID H. LAWRENCE XVII) TWISTED GRIP — Impressed by his sudden ruthlessness, Villains Knox (guest star Jamie Hector) and Daphne (guest star Brea Grant) bring Hiro (Masi Oka) — among others — into the Pinehearst fold, and give him an assignment. With Angela (Cristine Rose) and the Company paralyzed by recent events, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) goes directly to Pinehearst for answers, and irrevocably changed by the shocking meeting. Meanwhile, Claire (Hayden Panettiere) and her mother Sandra (Ashley Crow) attempt to free Meredith (Jessalyn Gilsig) from the thrall of escaped Villain Doyle (David H. Lawrence XVII), who has the ability to take mental and physical control of others. Later, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) brings Tracy (Ali Larter) to Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), hoping he can shed light on the surprising origin of their abilities.

[Heroes Spoilers]

And here are some promo photos from Monday's episode. Why is there paint on Sylar's hand? And what is up with people's hair in this episode? I'm guessing it's an evil future hair thing. [Heroes Spoilers]

Knox actor Jamie Hector explains how he first learned about his powers, and where he comes from. [Daily Motion]

Smallville:

Chloe's attraction to sassy paramedic Davis Bloome is part of her dark side, which comes from Brainiac, manifesting. Davis has "a slight edge" in the Chloe-Davis-Jimmy triangle, because they feel a pull to each other that comes "from a Kryptonian place," and is biological but beyond their understanding. And how does Chloe's new superpower work? Actor Alison Mack explains:

She's ridiculously intelligent – like highly, highly, highly brilliant, and able to take in information in a way that is beyond anything one could ever imagine. She can relate to computers in a way she never was able to before….

[TV Guide]

Chuck:

The nerd-spy show is seeking a group of Asian thugs to play the Triad members who menace Chuck and Morgan in episode 12, "Chuck vs. The Best Friend." [SpoilerTV]

Stargate Atlantis:

Amanda Tapping says she's in the final episode of SGA, wearing a blonde wig. But she's not sure if she'll be in the first SGA movie, or the next SG-1 direct-to-DVD film. [Sci Fi Wire]

Knight Rider:

Here's the synopsis for episode 5 of your favorite show:

MIKE AND KITT MUST STOP A ROGUE MILITARY OFFICER BEFORE HE BLOWS UP A DAM – Mike (Justin Bruening) goes undercover as a Marine gone AWOL to track down a rogue military officer. A beautiful undercover agent from across the pond joins Mike to help him solve the crime. Back at the SSC, Billy (Paul Campbell) undergoes some combat training of his own with the help of Zoe (Smith Cho).

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

The show stars Slater as a mild-mannered suburban dad called Henry who just so happens to share a body with Edward, a government assassin whose personality can be activated and deactivated as needs be - a plot point central to the series (which follows Henry/Edward as their personalities start switching at the wrong time), but confusing to critics who were shown a preview this summer. When the series' showrunner was replaced mid-pilot, industry watchers thought we were in for a re-run of one of last year's biggest misfires, but according to the HR's first look, that's not the case:

Unlike last year's "Bionic Woman," which seemed to catalog the show's difficult development in every episode, the production turmoil that built "My Own Worst Enemy" is not evident in the pilot. The episode is a snappily written, fast-paced thriller that shows Slater can be a — and I'm really trying to avoid using the word "surprisingly" here — likable TV star... The episode is smartly directed by David Semel (who shot the first episodes of NBC's "Heroes," "Life" and A&E's "The Cleaner"), who adds some cool moments here — Henry, shell-shocked, during his "first" gunbattle, then, later, drunkenly exploring his newly discovered alter-ego's apartment.

It's also nice to see NBC breaking open the piggy bank. The production values feel like the highest since the "Heroes" pilot. You don't get the sense that everything was shot on greenscreen and backlot. The editing is terrific, taking some notes from the "Bourne" movies... I could be wrong here. This could be low expectations at work. But I think viewers are going to enjoy this pilot in general and Slater in particular.

The piece also gives an idea of how surprising even NBC's own staff find the show:

"It's good," NBC employees are saying. "No, really. I was surprised. It's really good."

The show premieres October 13th at 10pm on NBC.

First Look: My Own Worst Enemy [Hollywood Reporter]