Transformers 3:

That leaked script we mentioned yesterday, that we thought was probably a fake? It is, according to Nelson, an administrator at Michael Bay's Shoot For The Edit Forums. [Shoot For The Edit via TFW2005]

Avatar:

CCH Pounder reveals a bit more about her character, Moat:

Queen Moat is the queen of of the Na'Vi. She is married to Eytukan and has two children: Tsu'tey and Neytiri. Neytiri is her really valiant, extremely brave and very independent daughter. She tries to keep the peace between Neytiri and her father... [And] she in some way sort of creates the freedom for Neytiri to be with the protagonist.

[L.A. Times]

Iron Man 2:

Here's a new pic of Tony Stark, hard at work in his workshop on an alternative energy source or something. Cool glasses. [Cinemaspy]

Battle Angel Alita:

James Cameron indicates his adaptation of this manga classic would be in a similar 3-D blend of live-action and CG animation to Avatar. But so far, all he's got is some concept art and a good script. [MTV]

Lost:

Another filming report involves the alternate-universe versions of Sun, Jin and Sayid meeting with Keamy and Omar on the same golf course where Sayid originally met Keamy and Omar. And there's speculation, based on set reports, that Mikhail is involved with Keamy and Omar, and that Mikhail is the one calling the shots. Also, there's a suspicion that Mikhail, Keamy and Omar are the agents of the Man In Black in this alternate timeline. [SpoilersLost]

And here are a few more season six promo pics, featuring Hurley, Claire and Miles. [Lyly Ford]

And someone blonde and female who we thought was dead will turn out to be still alive, in the time period when we last saw her. And Sheila Kelly's new character interacts with more than one regular character, and Kelly says the role is "like a petal opening," and you slowly understand how her character intertwines with the existing storylines. [E! Online]

Dollhouse:

Here are some promo photos from this Friday's double dose of Dollhouse. [SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

A couple bits of casting news: Broadway veteran J. Smith-Cameron will play Melinda, Sam's estranged mother. And Tudors star James Frain will be starring as Franklin Mott, Tara's new overprotective vampire boyfriend. The two of them meet in the second episode, and have an "immediate and torrid" connection. [EW]

Supernatural:

Sam and Dean will find a town full of happy zombies — people's loved ones come back to life there, but they're friendly, non-brain-eating zombies. And they include Bobby's dead wife. Also, Sam will use his demonic powers at least once before the season ends, and Dean won't be happy about it. And Chuck will be back, but without his fangirl girlfriend. [E! Online]

Stargate Universe:

The second half of the first season will be more serialized and deal with tensions among the Destiny's crew, says producer Robert Cooper. We'll be spending less time on Earth (thank goodness), and meeting a new alien race.

The implications of leaving Rush on the planet, the real division that will cause amongst the crew, the judgment of those characters and their actions are going to have a big impact on the show. We have a lot of things planned for the second half of the season... There is a big story point coming up that does introduce an alien race. It's more along the line of a "District 9"-type alien. Our interaction is handled in a very "Universe" way; they're not the typical "Stargate" alien bad guys.

[Hollywood Reporter]

Chuck:

Ellie and Aweesome have moved out to an apartment across the way, so Chuck and Morgan share a bachelor pad now. [E! Online]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Ghostbusters 3:

So you might have heard that Sigourney Weaver says that Venkman (Bill Murray) will be a ghost in the new movie? And that her character's son, Oscar, will have grown up to be a Ghostbuster? People who've been paying attention to the rumors and chatter around this film are pretty sure she's just repeating old rumors — like Bill Murray reportedly told someone four years ago that he would only be in the movie if he played a ghost. And Weaver probably hasn't actually seen a script, since nobody else has yet, either. On the other hand, Murray playing a ghost could be sort of fun. [Screen Rant]

Transformers 3:

People have been circulating a draft script for this upcoming masterpiece. I don't for a scond believe that this movie has a script yet, and even the people who are reposting the script thinks it might be a fake. On the other hand, apparently a similarly rough draft script of Revenge Of The Fallen popped up online long before it came out, and was viewed as similarly wild — but turned out to be real. Plus, it's always entertaining to read these things, and it's probably better than the real script will be.

So apparently this draft script includes the Aerialbots, the Combaticons, Perceptor, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, and Shockwave, and is a big love letter to fans of the 1984 animated series. As it begins, hostilities between the Autobots and the Decepticons have gotten worse, and calls for the Autobots to leave Earth have gotten more shrill. Sam (who's now an intern at the Large Hadron Collider) finds another fragment of the Allspark, which could give off enough energon to power all the Transformers forever, if bombarded with the right kind of particles. Optimus sends for the Ark, and Sam invites Mikaela to come join him there for a romantic evening, or something, and then proposes to her. Sam and Optimus Prime are all set to examine the Allspark fragment aboard the Ark, when Megatron attacks, but then Starscream betrays him. And somehow this leads to everyone traveling back in time to 1982, where Starscream steals the Allspark and kills Megatron "twice in one day," has he puts it.

This means that all of the Autobots have to disguise themselves as period cars (would GM even allow this?) meaning Optimus becomes a Peterbilt Semi, and Mirage becomes a Pontiac Trans Am, but also sometimes a Formula 1 race car. And Sam meets his own grandfather, and realizes that he can erase the Autobot/Decepticon war from history by getting rid of the Cube. But yeah, it's almost certainly a fake. Click here to read the whole thing. [Comic Book Movie and Allspark]

Iron Man 2:

Robert Downey Jr. says the thing that made the first movie work was that it was grounded in reality, and the high tech looked like something out of Popular Mechanics rather than a galaxy-spanning saga. And with the Marvel Universe as crazy as it is, it would be easy for the next movie to be too wild, but he and Jon Favreau want to keep it grounded. And he explains how they'll avoid sequel-itis:

My take - Jon [Favreau] was in agreement, and Marvel supported us - was that once you tell an [origin] story pretty well, that's usually where things start to get dull, and one or two or three things start to happen over and over again," Downey explained during an interview with Rotten Tomatoes. "So, we made Tony Stark's challenges very much outside the usual realm of activity. As much as anything else, it's much more of a side job for him the second time around.

[Rotten Tomatoes]

Remember how we reported the first movie was totally improv, with almost no script to speak of? Olivia Munn (who's admittedly not one of the film's main actors) says it was much the same this time around. "There's a bunch of improv, over and over." And apparently Munn improv-ed so well, Downey Jr. stopped the filming to give her a round of applause.

Thor:

Ray Stevenson, who plays Volstagg, says he wears a fatsuit, but he's got muscles and isn't the "weeble-shaped" figure from the comics. And he says the character has a ton of "Falstaffian vigor," which makes sense given that Branagh is directing. [Superhero Hype]

The Sorcerer's Apprentice:

Apparently we first meet the apprentice as a young boy (Jake Cherry) and then later as a young adult (Jay Baruchel). And producer Jerry Bruckheimer explains why we should be excited:

"He's more like a rock star," producer Jerry Bruckheimer tells PEOPLE about the film, due in theaters July 10. Like the animated version, this Sorcerer's Apprentice will also feature those dancing brooms. "We did it in a realistic way," Bruckheimer says. "The [brooms] are really dancing and doing their thing."

How could it be bad? [People]

Daybreakers:

Here's an international trailer, which I don't think we've shown you before — it includes a bit more footage from this vampire-dominated future dystopia. [Reelz Channel]

The Wolfman:

A new international poster shows that the wolfman's powers include causing people's heads to float randomly and to be eaten by unnatural shadows. [ShockTillYou Drop]

Spider-Man 4:

Some have speculated that Bryce Dallas Howard could be back as Gwen Stacy, but she hasn't been contacted yet, which makes it seem less likely. Meanwhile, don't hold your breath for her to return as Kate Connor in Terminator 5 or 6 — she's not signed up for any further installments. (But she would defininitely consider it.) [Coming Soon]

Avatar:

The New York Daily News review has a pretty good summary of the film:

Sam Worthington is Jake Scully [sic], a paraplegic Marine in 2154 assigned to a deep-space moon called Pandora, where his consciousness controls an avatar, a clone of Pandora's indigenous, humanoid Na'vi people. As Jake lies in a high-tech tanning bed, his mind is in his blue Na'vi, which is 10 feet tall with pointy ears, cat eyes and a tail.

A scientist (a tough Sigourney Weaver) created the process to aid diplomatic relations with the Na'vi, since the air is poisonous to humans and space suits, apparently, get in the way. It's the last chance for the peaceful aliens - who know what the avatars really are - since a corporate goon (entertainingly weaselly Giovanni Ribisi) wants a valuable element buried deep under the "hometree," the Na'vi's spiritual center. And if diplomacy fails, a gung-ho sergeant (Stephen Lang, overdoing it) will get it at any cost.

Cameron counts too much on the connection we'll have to his goofy-looking blue man group, or with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the Na'vi warrior princess who helps Jake's heart go on. Saldana - Uhura in last summer's "Star Trek" - delivers a remarkably full-bodied motion-capture performance, but the mystic-tribal clichés around her suggest every Netflix queue on Pandora includes "Dances with Wolves" and "The Last of the Mohicans."

[NY Daily News]

And there's a new Czech TV spot, plus a big Panasonic tie-in commercial that you may actually have seen.

Harry Potter:

Tom Felton says Deathly Hallows will be truer to the book than any of the previous films. [Movies-Spoilers]

Doctor Who:

So Alexandra Moen, who plays the Master's wife Lucy Saxon, says she wasn't the one who picked up the Master's ring at the end of "Last Of The Time Lords." Since we last saw her, Lucy has been locked up in a big ominous castle-like prison, and it just got a new governor. And it sounds like she breaks out of there. She's decided to try and go straight, but she's not at peace — she's full of anger. And her scenes are mostly with the Master and a few other actors. [Digital Spy]

Lost:

Some more filming details: episode nine is definitely Alpert-centric, and the Black Rock is definitely a prison ship. Also, we see an Ilana scene taking place at an old hospital in Russia, suggesting that Ilana is tied in with Alpert's backstory somehow. Separately, there's a scene with Jin working in a hotel, and Sun was there too. Also filming in the same location was a Keamy/Omar scene, and Mikhail was there and spoke Korean. There was also a Jin scene involving the same community college where Hurley's asylum was filmed. And a scene at a nice house with Hurley and Alpert. [The Transmission via SpoilersLost]

Also, Sayid was filming a scene with a large group of the "temple Others," including Zoey, and probably Cindy and Zack. Also present: seven to 10 scientists, for some reason. [SpoilersLost]

The show is casting an E.R. doctor making rounds, an MRI tech, and an African American female lawyer who won't be pushed around, for its eleventh episode. [SpoilersLost]

And there's an extended version of the season six promo:

Fringe:

I really like these new wallpapers, which emphasize the "passing between universes" theme as well as more of Walter's oddness. [SpoilerTV]

Remember that set video we showed you last week that included Anna Torv getting blown around? Now it's her, plus a bunch of extras:

Supernatural:

I know we mentioned that Cupid would be showing up (along with Famine, one of the Four Horsemen) in the Valentine's Day episode "My Bloody Valentine." Apparently, he'll be doughy, out of shape and naked, and constantly giving everybody bear hugs. [TV Guide Magazine]

And we'll be meeting a holy man in episode 5x16, "Dark Side Of The Moon":

[JOSHUA] This benevolent — dignified, very Zen man in his 50's-70's is inflappable, simple, but not insincere. A Morgan Freemen type vibe. PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES. GUEST STAR.

Could that actually be God? [SpoilerTV]

And after the rerun of "The End" the other day, they showed a new trailer for the next episode, coming January 21.

And here's a set video for 5x15, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", in which all you can basically see is Sam and Dean walking inside a house:

True Blood:

The show is looking for someone to play Alcide, who's described as "rough looking but articulate and basically decent," and he takes a liking to Sookie and may even have some mutual attraction with her. It sounds like he takes her out, given that we meet a giant nightclub bouncer who knows Alcide but is suspicious of his guest, Sookie. Also, an old-school Ob/Gyn examines Arlene with an ultrasound, and a pastor officiates at Eggs' funeral service. [EW and SpoilerTV]

Chuck:

As you've probably heard, we're done with Chuck's "reluctant spy" act. He's now a fully gung-ho spy, but he's also aware of how much his career puts his family at risk. And Awesome will get drawn into Chuck's espionage world to a much greater extent — and we'll get to see how awesome Awesome really is. As season three starts, we'll realize something awful has happened between Chuck and Sarah in the mean time, and eventually we'll learn just what that is. We'll also learn how crucial Sarah is to whether Chuck makes a good spy. Carina, Sarah's old partner from season one, will be back. And Jeffster will perform again in a very special episode. [TV Guide]

Also, Casey is going to have a lot to deal with this season — a secret from his past is going to come to light, and it'll make his life complicated. Also, he'll get more responsibilities at the Buy More, and will start to discover that Buy More may actually be his future. Meanwhile, Lester has a "Fight Club" episode where he goes nuts. And we'll get to see Lester's bedroom and his pajamas. [ChuckTV]

FlashForward:

Episode 13 will be called "Better Angels." [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here's a new trailer for the next batch of episodes, starting January 22:

Heroes:

It's the death that sticks — for now, anyway. Tim Kring says we definitely won't be seeing Nathan again for the rest of season four. [Fancast News]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Iron Man 2

The international poster gives us Tony Stark sans helmet. [Cinematical]

Avatar

James Cameron gave his overview of the story, straight from the six-legged horse's mouth:

"We're telling the story of what happens when a technologically superior culture comes into a place with a technologically inferior indigenous culture and there are resources there that they want," said Cameron. "It never ends well.

"It's also a love story about an awakening of perception through the other person. That person must teach him something and there has to be a greater reason for him to be in love with her other than she's a hot blue alien chick."

[Telegraph]

During yesterday's live cast on MTV, Cameron and his crew showed images from pre-production, where Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana donned long hair and acted out their scenes before filming the motion capture. Compare the rehearsal to the actual screenshot. [Image via CinemaBlend]

There's also footage that shows the motion capture alongside the finished scenes:

And Fox has released 21 high resolution images. We've seen several of these before, but these are better quality versions with explanatory text. [/Film]

Tron Legacy

Jeff Bridges says that the de-aging technology used to make one of the characters he plays look 27 years younger is more sophisticated than what we saw in the teaser trailer; it's the same technology used on Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's also unlikely that the teaser footage will appear in the actual film.

And here's what's known about the story so far:

Though the movie's storyline is closely held, we know that Bridges will play an older version of his original character, Kevin Flynn, as well as a second character whose appearance is that of Bridges 27 years ago. In Tron Legacy, Kevin Flynn's son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), goes back into the digital world to find his lost father. Olivia Wilde and Michael Sheen co-star as programs living in the world of computer programs. Boxleitner also reprises his role from the original Tron. Lisberger collaborates as a producer. Joseph Kosinski directs the new vision of Tron.

[SCI FI Wire]

Harry Potter

We get a bit more magic in the second image from The Deathly Hallows thanks to an appearance by Harry's wand.

Lost

In an interview, Ian Somerhalder, who plays Boone, says he's filming a scene for the season premiere and will appear in two more episodes. [via DarkUFO]

Supernatural

How will the Four Horsemen be revealed? Here's the word:

The rest of the Four Horsemen are coming...Pestilence shows up near the end of the season, we'll meet Famine in a February episode. "When you're under the effects of Famine, you're not necessarily hungry for food. You're hungry for whatever that thing is you're starving for, be it alcohol or attention or love or sex or Twinkies or heroine or gambling... Everyone at the end of the day is starving for something, and Famine brings that out."

[here4castiel]

Misha Collins says Castiel barely makes it out of his battle with Anna in episode thirteen alive. [AOL]

And here are the titles for episodes eleven through sixteen:

5.11: Sam, Interrupted
5.12: Swap Meat
5.13: Back to the Future II
5.14: My Bloody Valentine
5.15: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
5.16: Your Whole Life Flashes Before Your Eyes

[Spoiler TV]

Fringe

Joshua Jackson talks about Peter's relationship with his mom and what might happen when Peter learns the truth about his origins. He also discusses rumors that Nina Sharp is either Peter's mother or Olivia's mother. [Zap2it]

Chuck

Here are a pair of casting calls for the twelfth episode of the new season, "Chuck vs The American Hero:"

[GENERAL NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF LOOKALIKE] 65.. Actor to play Gen. Schwarzkopf...CO STAR.

[HEFTY BURBANK COP] Male, 35-45. Out of shape, overweight but not huge Burbank cop who is very excited when some real action takes place on his beat...CO-STAR.

[Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder and Charlie Jane Anders.

Thor:

Natalie Portman let slip that her friend Kat Dennings (Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist) will be in this film with her — and speculation is, she'll play Enchantress. [MTV via Cinematical]

Spider-Man 4:

No real news about this movie, which starts shooting early next year, but Tobey Maguire says he likes the idea of the Lizard as the main villain, because the Lizard has a history with Peter Parker, and "we often will go towards that kind of stuff." And he echoes Sam Raimi's comments about not knowing much about Carnage, who came to the wall-crawler's supporting cast much later on. He also likes Mysterio. [MTV]

Star Trek:

Continuing with the always-awesome vein of "actors making random predictions," Leonard Nimoy says he doubts J.J. Abrams and friends will call him to ask him to be in the sequel. He'll be happy to talk to them if they do call, but he figures he's already served his purpose. (And I bet J.J. is a lot more desperate for Nimoy to come back and do more Fringe appearances, something he's seemed a bit leery of doing lately.) [TrekMovie]

Doctor Who:

The Beeb released official summaries of David Tennant's final two parter, coming soon but not soon enough:

Part One: It's the Tenth Doctor's final journey – but his psychotic nemesis the Master has been reborn, on Christmas Eve. With both determined to cheat death, the battle ranges from the wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, while the alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire Universe.

Part Two: The Doctor faces the end of his life as the Master's plans hurtle out of control. With the sound of drums growing louder, and an ancient trap closing around the Earth, the Doctor and Wilf must fight alone. But sacrifices must be made, and the deadly prophecy warns: "He will knock four times."

[BlogtorWho]

Meanwhile, remember the filming a while back, from Matt Smith's first story, which takes place in the idyllic fictional village of Leadworth? Apparently they needed a few extra shots for that story, because Leadworth was resurrected the other day for a bunch of minor pick-up shots. (And they had to make it look like summer, which can't have been fun.) Scenes included Smith running in his Chaplin-esque way, and poking his head out of a window. Karen Gillan was there in her oddly sexy police uniform, with her little red car. More pics at the link. [Alun_Vega on Flickr]

Lost:

Are the alternate timelines making you dizzy yet? The show was filming a scene by a lovely scenic waterfall, featuring Sayid, Locke, Jin, Cindy and a bunch of others — all decked out as "Others." Have our gang joined the Others? (One eyewitness thought Kate was among them, but apparently not.) Also on set, but not filming yet, Sheila Kelly, the L.A. Law vet who will play Kendall, who's caught committing corporate esipionage and has to lie her way out. And meanwhile there are more set pics showing Miles and Sawyer as cops in L.A. [The ODI]

Supernatural:

As we mentioned, the 100th episode will focus largely on Dean. But it'll also fill in a lot of pieces of the puzzle, says Eric Kripke:

We're aiming for it to be a big mythology episode. The Archangel Michael plays a very large part as we explore his relationship with Dean

[EW]

Heroes:

Some new set pics actually look pretty intriguing — Claire is running, and Sylar is minus an eye. If they make Sylar a cyclops permanently, I might have to start watching again. Just so I can call him Cylar. (Or SyClops?) [SpoilerTV]

And of course, because this is Heroes, Masi Oka hints that "you never know" if Nathan will come back from the dead. [Zap2It]

Chuck:

And there are some new promos:

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Transformers 3:

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

Star Trek:

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

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

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

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

Resident Evil 4:

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

Lost:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doctor Who:

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

And David Tennant speaks:

Dollhouse:

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

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

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

[TV Guide and TV Guide]

Fringe:

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

V:

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

Supernatural:

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

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

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

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

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

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

[SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[SpoilerTV andSpoilerTV]

Smallville:

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

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

Chuck:

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

Stargate Universe:

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

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Written by Ben Edlund, this story was full of beautifully weird moments juxtaposed with plot developments that were sometimes a bit unsatisfying. On the side of beautiful weirdness we have the introduction of the demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard being his usual over-the-top self), who forces homophobic banker to make out with him to get a magical bailout - as you can see in this great scene I excerpted for you above. Angel Castiel and the Winchesters have been trying to find Crowley because he's got the enchanted Colt gun, which could be the only weapon on Earth capable of snuffing Lucifer.

To the good guys' surprise, Crowley is more than willing to hand over the Colt. He wants Lucifer dead as much as the humans do. As Crowley explains, Lucifer just thinks of the demons as servants - once he's wiped out humanity, he'll go for demons next. This is a nice little moment that solidifies the unexpected alliances emerging from Armageddon. Human good guys actually have more in common with demons in this fight than they do with angels. The angels, after all, are the people who worked to set off Armageddon in the first place. The only creatures who want to stop the "planetary enema" are good humans and independently-minded demons like Crowley. (And possibly God, if he's still around anywhere; and possibly Jesse the comic-book loving Antichrist who is hiding in Australia figuring things out - but let's leave those subplots aside for now.)

Armed with the Colt, and tipped off that Lucifer is getting freaky in Carthage, Missouri, the boys go on a killing mission with Castiel and fellow hunters Ellen and Jo. Right before things get seriously bad, Bobby insists that they all take a picture together, to commemorate the gang's togetherness before the world ends. It's another weird beauty moment, the six of them posing uneasily before a timed-release camera, looking for all the world like a gang of rednecks rather than a group so badass and holy that they can stop the apocalypse.

There are two crucial developments in Carthage. First, in a move that I'm sure pissed off a lot of fans, Ellen and Jo are killed in a particularly lame way. Jo is mangled so horribly by one of Lucifer's hellhounds that she's dying. Knowing she's doomed, Jo volunteers to do a suicide bomb deal, staying behind in a hellhound-infested warehouse so she can push the detonator and get the hounds while the rest of them stick the Colt in Lucifer's face. But then Ellen, Jo's mother, refuses to go. She decides to stay behind and die with Jo.

Why do they let her? Armageddon is on, and they can't afford to lose a Hunter with as much power and experience as Ellen. Everybody has lost multiple people they love, Bobby has lost his legs, and yet the rest of them soldier on. If any other character (ahem, male character) had tried to kill himself in such a stupid way, everybody would have ridden his ass about how he needs to set aside his grief to stay in the fight because there are bigger issues at stake than losing a child. The whole world could go to hell! And yet when Ellen decides to sacrifice herself for NO REASON, the brothers are like, "Oh, OK." I love Supernatural to bits - it's really one of my favorite shows ever - but Ellen's death just rang false. There is no way the good guys would have let such a valuable Hunter sacrifice herself. Her death was just shabby plotting.

Then there was the mind-blowing, fascinating stuff that happened in Missouri. While Ellen stupidly sacrificed herself, Castiel managed to get himself caught in a holy fire trap set by Lucifer and his henchman of the day, Meg. We haven't seen Lucifer in a while, and he's looking a little scabby. Apparently his meatsack isn't holding up very well - only Sam is a strong enough vessel for him. While Lucifer is giving the old "why don't you join me we're two rebel angels" speech to Castiel, he lets slip an interesting tidbit. "When I'm gone, you're going to be [Heaven's] public enemy number one," he says to Cas. In a sense, he's right. They are the only two rebel angels who've been cast out of Heaven - well, there is also Anna, but we're not sure what's up with her right now.

The point is there's something really intriguing about the idea that if the boys kill Lucifer and stop Armageddon that Castiel would in essence become the new Lucifer figure for Heaven. Not that he would necessarily become evil, but that he would be the powerful Fallen Angel who defied the will of Heaven by stopping their scourging plans. The idea that Castiel could easily be painted as a Lucifer-like figure is just another sneaky way that this episode overturns conventional ideas of good and evil. We already know that most of the angels are dicks. If you had to choose an afterlife ruled by the dicks, or one ruled over by Castiel, which would you pick?

Luckily you don't have to answer that question yet because (surprise) it turns out that the Colt doesn't work on Lucifer. It knocks him out for a few seconds, but he's immune. So after the brothers confront him, and Sam gets another version of the "hey I was a surly younger brother who lost a father too why don't you join me" speech, Lucifer is able to continue with his nefarious plans. Which involve slaughtering a bunch of demons as an offering to Death - one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Castiel escapes his holy fire trap just in time to zap the brothers to safety while Lucifer grins and says, "Hello, Death."

So I think you know which Horseman will be visiting us when Supernatural returns next year.

Star Trek:

By all accounts, there's still no script for the sequel, so any predictions anyone might make are purely based on what they had for lunch. But after saying J.J. Abrams told him he'll be in the sequel a week or so ago, Bruce Greenwood is now saying he may not be there after all.

I'm not sure if we'll see Pike or not. He was mainly there to bring Kirk aboard the Enterprise and it's hard to say if he'll be popping up in the sequel.

[MovieWeb]

And co-writer Roberto Orci says that even if Khan is in the sequel, chances are it'll be a character they created, who they then decide to turn into Khan:

Cause in a way, even if we do Khan, or not, we're trying to approach the story as just what's best for it, and then [asking] can that character become Khan or not, you know. You're not trying to rely on previous knowledge or love of it, so you almost want to strip all the names away and just come up with the emotional forces and the scientific forces that are going to come into play, and then start letting the details kind of bleed in.

[Newsarama]

Avatar:

Here's a new French poster for this James Cameron alien epic! [Slashfilm]

Daybreakers:

Here's a new European poster for this vampire epic. [ShockTillYouDrop]

New Moon:

Taylor Lautner admits the film never really addresses the fact that he should be naked when he changes back from a werewolf into a human. [MTV]

Planet 51:

More (mostly negative) reviews, more spoilers for this animated "we're the alien invaders" film. The 1950s jokes include a parody of "Duck and Cover" drills. The planet's skies rain rocks instead of water. Chuck's alien friend Lem is an astronomy nut, who's convinced the universe is only 500 miles wide and his planet is the biggest one. Also helping Chuck are a comic book geek, Skiff, and Lem's love interest Neera. The aliens sent to track down Chuck are led by General Grawl (Gary Oldman! What will Gary Oldman not do?). Chuck only has 48 hours to return to his spaceship, or it'll return to Earth without him. [Star Telegram and the Canadian Press and Alibi]

Lost:

Ian Somerhalder says the script for the season opener is so detailed, it weighed three pounds. And he had to wear the same clothes he wore in the original pilot. He'll be back for a couple more episodes after the first one. [ABC News]

Meanwhile, Lost was filming in the old Honolulu Police Station, which was previously seen as the lockup where Sarah bailed Jack out. Some filming included LAPD cruisers, and Josh Holloway was the main character on set. [Hawaii Weblog]

Doctor Who:

The BBC posted an eight-second audio clip from "The End Of Time":

Dollhouse:

Three new stills from "The Left Hand" showcase tons of destruction centering around Summer Glau. [SpoilerTV]

Fringe:

Olivia's niece is back in tonight's episode, but her sister remains MIA. [EW]

And here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of tonight's episode.

Also, here's what happens in episode 2x09, "Snakehead":

After a cargo ship runs aground, the shoreline becomes littered with bodies hosting a giant squid-like creature. The Fringe team descends upon the scene to examine the bodies and discovers that the mysterious organisms are actually giant parasites.

And here are some pictures from the episode. [FringeSpoilers and FringeSpoilers]

And in episode 2x15, we'll meet a slightly overweight seven-year-old boy with brown hair and very blue eyes. [SpoilerTV]

V:

Now that Scott Rosenbaum is taking over as showrunner for the 2010 episodes, he says the series will become more fast-paced and we'll get more answers about the mythology of the Visitors faster. He adds:

Listen, my goal is that in every single episode there will be an "Oh my God, I can't believe that happened" moment, or a "Wow" moment – at least one – in every single episode. And I think that would not only be a mythology plot reveal, but also a character reveal. I want the characters to be able to make mistakes, to make the wrong choices sometimes, and that's where you get the most amount of drama. I would prefer that the stories come from them making mistakes, and the snowball effect of those mistakes, or, rather than mistakes, choices made for the right reason, but then there are consequences of that. I don't want people to watch this show and ever be able to guess what's going to happen next, because that's the problem with some of the TV I watch.

We'll delve into questions like what the Visitors eat, whether they're capable of love or empathy, and so on. [SciFiTVZone]

Supernatural:

The show's 100th episode, airing in March or April, will be a big one for Jensen Ackles. (Does he say "Yes" to Michael in it??) [EW]

Smallville:

Chloe's love interest is called Steven Swift, aka Warrior Angel. (Bwa ha ha ha.) And he's played by Carlo Marks, who played Chloe's "what if" fiance back in season seven's "Apocalypse." [EW]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here's a new image from Friday's episode, "Legacy Of Terror," in which:

When Luminara disappears while tracking the Geonosian warlord, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead a platoon of clone troopers in search of her. Following her trail, the heroes descend deep into the lair of the grotesque Geonosian queen – Karina the Great – where they discover that the hive is alive and teeming with undead defenders

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Avatar

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

Kick-Ass

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

The Wolfman

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

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

Doctor Who

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

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

Lost

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

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

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

[E!]

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

Supernatural

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

Smallville

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

FlashForward

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

V:

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

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Monday

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

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

Tuesday

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

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

Wednesday

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

Thursday

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

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

Friday

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

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

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

Saturday

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

Sunday

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

Lost:

So we already mentioned that alternate-universe Ben is working as a teacher at a high school where his adopted daughter Alex is one of the students — but apparently Ben and Alex are still "close." And Locke is working at the school too! Also sighted around the school: Rose and Doc Arzt. But no sign of Bernard. And William Atherton's new character is the principal, but that may not be his only role. [SpoilersLost]

Doctor Who:

The second special episode "Waters Of Mars" already aired in the U.K. (and we'll have our recap later today) but it's still new to many of us — and here are some more promo pics that came out at the last minute. [BlogtorWho and BlogtorWho]

And here are some screencaps from the new trailer for "The End Of Time" that aired at the end of "Waters Of Mars." More pics at the link. [Life, Doctor Who And Combom]

And here's that trailer, in case you missed it:

John Simm says he will not be at all subtle as the Master this time around:

If you thought I was hamming it up in the last one, wait till you see this. I like to be quite subtle, but this doesn't call for subtle. The Master is insane. I also used a bit of Caligula and a bit of Tony Blair. But in this, The Master is off the leash. Unhinged. Totally unplugged!

[Digital Spy]

David Tennant tells Simon Mayo there's a chance he might get called back for a "three Doctors" special, and he keeps a version of his costume around under lock and key just in case, because if you come back, you have to bring your own kit. [BlogtorWho]

Russell T. Davies explains the meaning of the phrase "He will knock four times."

Fringe:

Here are some set pics, showing Joshua Jackson at the scene of a Boston accident. [SpoilerTV]

Anna Torv talks about Olivia's relationships on the show. [BuddyTV]

V:

Here are a whopping nine clips from tomorrow night's new episode!

Supernatural:

Some new clips from this Thursday's new episode, the last one of 2010. Mark Sheppard in full effect. [SF Universe and Chicago Tribune]

FlashForward:

A new set video shows people running down a street. Is it the present — or next April? [Flashforward.PL]

Episodes 12 and 13 will be called "Kairos" and "Better Angels" respectively. [SpoilerTV]

And the world's most globe-trottingest FBI agents are at it again in episode ten:

Against Wedeck's orders, Mark and Demetri travel to Hong Kong in search of the woman claiming to know details of Demetri's fate; Lloyd tries to come clean about his and Simon's involvement in the global blackout - against Simon's better judgment — and Zoey discovers the true meaning of her flashforward.

[SpoilerTV]

New Moon:

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg says the second movie in a trilogy is the hardest to write, and explains what this film is about:

The second film in a trio of films is always the diciest because you don't want to do the movie as just a set-up for the [third film]. I was really conscious of wanting this movie to stand alone in its own right, and there is a very standalone story in this book. That is Bella's heartbreak and recovering from heartbreak and so the theme that comes out of that is that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I think it is Bella's evolution of becoming a stronger person; I mean, every book takes her further along that path of becoming her own person. So I think that is the standalone theme in this movie.

And she says she worked hard to make Bella sympathetic despite the fact that she takes advantage of Jacob's feelings for her in this film. [Cinematical]

Stargate Universe:

Amanda Tapping confirms she'll be back as Sam Carter towards the end of the first season, but she doesn't get to play with anybody. "I'm kind of off on my own ship." [Gateworld]

And here are a slew of promo pics from the episode "Life". [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Ellen Tigh is back! Kate Vernon has joined the cast of this show, according to Greg Grunberg's Twitter. [Digital Spy]

And here's a behind-the-scenes featurette for the "Thanksgiving" episode:

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Like the episode two weeks ago, where the Winchesters wander through a TV show hell, this week we got more of the jokey meta-commentary on TV genres and fandom. Chuck the prophet and Becky the superfan were back, as headliner and organizer respectively at a Supernatural fan convention. (If you recall, Chuck published a cult-fave series of novels called Supernatural, based on his prophesies, before he realized that he was a prophet.) Everybody at the Con is dressed up as characters from the show, and Chuck is even asked questions by a stereotypical annoying uberfan during Q/A. In a silly German accent, Annoying Uberfan nitpicks his way through several question about how Sam could have been so stupid about Ruby, and asks why the brothers don't put their weapons on bungees to prevent losing them in fights.

The latter is a good point, which Dean acknowledges later in the episode as their weapons are knocked from their hands as usual.

It turns out that the LARP the fans are playing at the Con is based on an actual haunting at the hotel, formerly an orphanage, where they're staying. Several orphans were slaughtered by their schoolmistress, and now their spirits torment hotel guests on the anniversary of the murders. So you guessed it - the LARPers encounter the real deal and don't know what to do. Except for two guys, playing Sam and Dean, who wind up helping the real Sam and Dean track down the ghosts' bones and burning them before several people are scalped.

There are a lot of in-group fandom jokes at the Con, and a few hilarious moments when Chuck is on stage telling his life story ("And then at sixteen I lost my virginity, but the next day my girlfriend told everybody in school it didn't count.") And he reveals that an anonymous Scandinavian patron is going to fund the publication of his unpublished Supernatural novels, as well as any he writes from now on. That's sort of an interesting moment, because of course Chuck can't live on prophesy alone - if he's going to make enough money to eat, he has to pretend his books are cheesy paranormal romances, not archangel-protected prophesies of the Lord. I've always loved the way Supernatural equates trashy genre writing with prophesy.

But, as Maureen Ryan said over at Chicago Tribune, "I like my meta as much as the next person, but the show does seem to be stalling a bit about getting to the mega." We've got the Apocalypse going down all over the place, Sarah Palin is going to president in 4 years, and Sam and Dean are farting around with another silly meta plot complete with Becky the batty fangirl?

There is an emotionally satisfying (and Wincesty) moment when the LARP Sam and Dean tell the real Dean that he "doesn't understand the point of Supernatural" because he thinks being a Hunter is a horrible job. LARP Dean says, and I paraphrase, "In real life, I fix photocopiers. That's a sucky job. Getting up and saving the world every day, and having a brother who would die for you, that's incredible." And Dean has a kind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer moment where he realizes that even though he nearly dies every day, his life might be more meaningful than LARP Dean's. Then he thanks LARP Sam and Dean for their help, and they cuddle up together and tell him they are partners who met in a Supernatural chat room. Yay, it's a gay Sam and Dean moment!

But heterosexuals get their time in the sun too, when Becky reveals that Chuck is her true love. (She fell for him when he heroically protected Con-goers from one of the ghosts.) There's a winceworthy moment where Becky tells Sam it's over between them, because she's had this ongoing fantasy that they're soulmates, and we wonder why such an irritatingly delusional person is all that Chuck can hope for. Seriously, I know Becky is supposed to be zany, but I hate the way her character is treated. She acts like she's about 10 years old.

Becky has her usefulness, however. It turns out that in her fannish zeal, she read one of Chuck's novels/prophesies so carefully that she discovered something none of them realized. Ruby never gave the magical, potentially-Lucifer-vanquishing Colt gun to Lilith. Instead, she gave it to one of Lilith's henchmen. Aha! Obsessive fandom saves the day, and gives the boys some much-need direction on their quest to find the Colt. Can't wait for next week's episode (the last of the year!) when by all accounts Lucifer will bring on the mega.

The Green Hornet

Reader Kyle sent us more exclusive photos from the Green Hornet set, where some havoc had occurred:

All the windows of the recruiting center to the right side of the door were blown out. They were cleaning glass off the sidewalk and cleaning up the inside of the room. Notice that the Marines poster in the window only has a silhouette of a Marine, when the one inside the center has an actual photograph. Interesting! The shoe store next door was really dusty inside, but there was no damage to it at all. Probably only for the outside shot, because there is an actual T-Mobile store to the other side . . . so they can't show that!

Avatar

It's not surprising that 20th Century Fox execs are touting James Cameron's film, but co-chairman Jim Gianopoulos emphasized that there are six specific scenes that simply blow him away every time, and the LA Times thinks he sounds genuine. [LA Times]

The Wolfman

New posters give us one werewolf and one distressed damsel. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Stargate SG-1

If the third DVD movie is made, it will be titled Stargate: Revolution. [GateWorld]

Stargate Universe

In the mid-season finale, "Justice," a crew member is found dead from a gunshot wound, and the gun is found in Colonel Young's quarters. Young will turn over command to Camille Wray. Meanwhile, Rush gains access to the Ancient interface, and a planet harbors a secret that threatens the Destiny. [GateWorld]

True Blood

Despite rumors, Rudy Reyes hasn't been cast as the werewolf Alcide. [EW]

Supernatural

In the November 19th episode, Castiel loses his virginity. Misha Collins talks about his character Castiel and the previously mentioned drinking episode, but says he's still looking forward to the angel losing his virginity. [TV Guide]

Dollhouse

Joss Whedon spilled a lot about the final episodes of the now-canceled show. Summer Glau's character Bennett, who works for the Washington DC Dollhouse, is a character from Caroline's past. We've known for a while that Echo will learn some unsavory details about her pre-wipe persona, and it appears that Bennett will be the person who reveals them. Whedon describes her as having morals, and explains that her arm is in a sling because she has a dead arm. As for Ray Wise's character Howard, he may be Adelle's DC counterpart, but he's not so big on the morals. We'll also be seeing more of Keith Carradine's Harding.

Alpha will be back in the December 11th two-part episode, and we'll see one of his personalities we haven't seen before: a violent Franciscan monk. And he'll have some very interesting questions to ask of someone, and rather unsavory ways of asking them. This time, we'll also see him interact with people at the Dollhouse other than Echo.

Claire Saunders will return for two episodes, and where she's been may come as a surprise. It sounds like Echo will be sent to the Attic, which Whedon describes as "Disneyland on really bad acid." Ballard and Echo's relationship will change in the remaining episodes (there will be a kiss), and Ballard's whole life will change more than once. Felicia Day will return in a later episode (Whedon said he would like to return to the dystopian future of "Epitaph One"). The remainder of the season will focus on Echo realizing that her larger battle isn't with the Dollhouse, but with Rossum. [TV Guide]

Also, a casting call for eleventh episode is out for a female test subject who can sing opera and speak German. [Spoiler TV]

Lost

The title for the eighth episode is "Recon." [Spoiler TV]

Apparently, there's a rumor that Alexis Bledel is going to be in an episode. She's not. [EW]

Fringe

The producers talk about several aspects of the show centered around "Momentum Deferred." They explain that the First Wave hybrids are more interested in intelligence-gathering than battle, and while William Bell may be telling the truth, he's probably out to serve his own interest rather than the Fringe team's. They also mention that Walter and Bell may have some sense of religion, and imply we'll see more of Rebbecca. As for the formerly disembodied leader of First Wave, we will eventually learn who stored his head and why he wasn't killed. [Fringe Television]

And here's a peek at the smooth-headed Observers. [TV Guide]

V

The Visitors get visas in a sneak peek of next week's episode.

And here's a lovely picture of Morena Baccarin. [TV Guide]

Heroes

The Nov. 23 episode, "Thanksgiving," is the one where Adrian Pasdar will take his final bow, and Angela will have to admit she was behind the Nathan-Sylar switcheroo. [TV Guide]

Smallville

Clark spends some quality time with the Army of Zod in stills from "Pandora." [Spoiler TV]

And here's the aforementioned sneak peek of "Pandora" with shirtless Clark.

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder.

Shazam

Screenwriter Bill Birch says that while the Captain Marvel movie will have an edge to it — but it won't be Dark Knight gritty, and will probably have a PG-13 rating. He admitted that Dwayne Johnson could be a possibility for Captain Marvel, given Johnson's relationship with director Peter Segal. Birch says he always saw Ryan Reynolds in the role, but that's out now that Reynolds is playing the Green Lantern. [Cinema Blend]

The Hobbit

Guillermo del Toro will have a cameo as a background monster in the film. He says he'll have a line or two, then die quickly. He says many of the movie's monsters will be majestic, especially Smaug and the Great Goblin. [/Film]

The Green Hornet

Tipster Kyle discovered the Green Hornet crew was filming on Wilshire Boulevard in LA, and snagged a photo and got a good look at the set:

It is an Armed Forces Recruiting center. Inside there are a bunch of low cubicles set up and in the back was a podium flanked by various state and organizational flags. They are hanging up a sign in front (picture attached) for the center as well as a shoe store next door. I'm not sure how the shoe store fits into things, but it's there!

[Thanks Kyle!]

X-Men Origins: Magneto

David Goyer says the script for Magneto is "brilliant," but it's unlikely it'll go to production any time soon, especially if Fox wants to make another Wolverine movie. [MTV]

Breaking Dawn

Robert Pattinson says he's heard the final Twilight movie will shoot in Portland, and in his wildest dreams he'd like to see Portland-based director Gus Van Sant at the helm. [MTV]

Doctor Who

A new behind the scenes featurette for "Waters of Mars" takes us inside the biodome and shows us one of the water creatures. [Blogtor Who]

And shots from a handful of TV magazines offer a little more insight into the episode. [Blogtor Who]

A poster on the Gallifrey Base forums has a solid theory on how "Waters of Mars" will end. Poster the_silver_shade suspects that the Doctor will rescue Adelaide from her fated death, but in order ensure minimal disruption of the timeline, Adelaide will have to take on a new identity and never see or interact with her daughter or granddaughter again. If so, expect it to be a tearjerker. [Gallifrey Base]

We mentioned yesterday that creatures who may or may not be Silurians appear in the eighth and ninth episodes of the new season. Here's an alleged glimpse of one of those creatures. One message-board poster claims, based on hearsay or inside sources, that the episode takes place 15 years in the future, when global warming has greatly reduced the human population and we're searching for a cure. And a new form of energy involves recycling old mines, which disturbs lizards under the ground — and the lizards start eating corpses. Also, something (possibly a spaceship) blots out the sun. Take this, of course, with a grain of salt. But here's that picture. [Gallifrey Base]

Lost

The producers have filled the role of Kendall, previously mentioned as a sharply witty, intellectual beauty who is caught committing corporate espionage. The corporate spy in question will be played by LA Law's Sheila Kelley. [Ausiello]

And the word is that either the bomb did go off at the end of last season or the show will reset with Oceanic Flight 815 landing safely, not both (the explanation is "it's complicated"). But hasn't it already been established that the bomb went off? [E!]

The DocArzt Lost Blog has a virtual tour of Lost's Hawaiian film locations using Google Maps. You can check out the building from which Locke was thrown, where Jin first saw Sun, Hurley's mansion, the spot where Bernard and Rose met, and the Beach Camp. [DocArzt]

Dollhouse

Summer Glau's character has an unsurprising tendency to speak in riddles, but she will make one shocking direct statement, and it will bring us closer to the origin story of one of the show's most important characters. [E!]

Supernatural

Anna will come back in an episode next year, and she'll want to kill Sam so he doesn't say yes to Lucifer. She'll travel back in time to kill Mary and John Winchester (sadly, they'll be "young Mary and "young John," so no Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and Sam and Dean will naturally have to go back and stop her. [E!]

Clone Wars

In this week's episode, Ahsoka and fellow Padawan Barriss Offee will embark on a mission to destroy Poggle the Lesser's Geonosian droid factory without their masters. Barriss is Luminara Unduli's Padawan, and Luminara is a very by-the-book master. Barriss takes a similarly structured approach to her duties. But as she spends more time with Ahsoka, Barriss will come to trust her instincts more and we'll see more of her vulnerability and curiosity.

Here's a clip of their daring break in:

V

Morena Baccarin says that the Visitors have emotions, but they're very zen about it and don't get caught up in the drama of things. She also says that the relationship between humans and Vs changes by the fourth episode. [Korbi TV]

Scott Wolf says Chad isn't a shady dude, and that he has a sense of journalistic integrity. He says that Anna is control for the time being, but Chad has a few tricks up his sleeve. [Korbi TV]

Elizabeth Mitchell talks a possible Erica/Anna smackdown. [Korbi TV]

FlashForward

Here's a fresh promo for Thursday's episode, "Playing Cards with Coyote." [Flashforward.pl]

Chuck

Chuck vs. The Terminator? Robert Patrick, former T-1000 and X-Files FBI agent, will appear in the midseason episode "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac." He'll be playing Col. Keller, a mysterious figure from Casey's past. [Ausiello]

Brandon Routh and Kristen Kreuk will be coming between Chuck and Sarah this season. Kreuk's character Hannah shares a kiss with Chuck, and the pair go at it in the Buy More's Home Theater Room. But she's not what she seems. As for Routh's Shaw, he and Sarah will find themselves in a moment of peril where they confess their love for one another. [E!]

Heroes

We'll get to see the young HRG in the eighteenth episode. Here's the casting call:

[YOUNG HRG] 20 Male. Caucasian. Free spirit. Hippie turned used car salesman in the late 70s. Newlywed naively invites a stranger into his home and tragedy ensues. We are looking for someone to play the young version of the actor Jack Coleman sptv050769. CO-STAR / POSSIBLE GUEST STAR/

[Spoiler TV]

Peter uses his fancy new healing power on Parkman in the promo for next week's episode, "Brother's Keeper."

And we have the official description for episode twelve, "The Fifth Stage."

Unexpected visitors greet H.R.G.; Samuel's plan starts to come to fruition; struggling to accept the truth, Peter takes extreme measures to get what he wants; Claire's journey leads her to an unexpected destination.

[Spoiler TV]

Smallville

Things will be looking a bit greener in the two-part Justice Society arc in January. Phil Morris' Martian Manhunter will play a role in the first part, "Society," but it's the "Legend" episode where he'll really shine. [Fancast]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder and Charlie Jane Anders.

Doctor Who:

Why is "Waters Of Mars," airing Sunday, so scary? Says Russell T. Davies:

It's the intensity – it's trapped, claustrophobic, desperate – which really ups the stakes. Towards the end, the monsters aren't the scary things: it's the humans and the Doctor who really give me a chill.

[Daily Telegraph]

Shifting forward to 2010, here are some set pics showing Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, on set at the Temple Of Peace (first featured in "The End Of The World,") which is rumored to be the Silurian Senate in a new two-parter. A couple of these photos give glimpses of what might be a Silurian head poking through a window. What do you think? (For those who aren't steeped in the lore, Silurians were prehistoric lizard people who turned up in 1970's "Doctor Who And The Silurians," and then made a comeback in 1984's "Warriors Of The Deep.")

According to one poster who claims to have inside info at the Gallifrey Base forums, those really are Silurians, but they look like crap and don't have a third eye. And there's an "overweight senate Silurian" who will make us want to facepalm. (Note: Everything not supported by photos is purely a rumor at this point!)

This is believed to be the same two-parter that the earlier graveyard scenes were from, and some fans say there was a lizard woman with a Predator-style mask in the graveyard sequences. The pics also include Alan Raglan, who plays Mo Northover, the father of the little boy from the graveyard scenes. Also, there's a huge rig shining a light from an upstairs window in one of these pics. Photos by Alun_Vega on Flickr [Gallifrey Base]

Lost:

Here's a casting call for a scientist we'll be meeting in episode 6x08:

[SEAMUS] Any ethnicity, 30s-40s. A scientist with some physicality to him. Not afraid to take charge and give orders. Looking for someone interesting. CO-STAR, POSSIBLE RECUR

[SpoilersLost]

In episode 6x07, there's a big scene where Sun, Ben, Frank, Ilana and Miles are on the beach, and they're surprised to see Jack, Hurley and Richard suddenly appear out of the jungle. This could be the big reunion of the 1970s and 2007 timelines — except then why would Miles already be there? And why is Richard arriving with Jack and Hurley? In any case, everyone embraces, and Claire is there, looking tough with straight black hair. [The Transmission via SpoilersLost]

V:

Sleazy anchorman Chad Decker won't be meeting up with Elizabeth Mitchell's FBI agent character, Erica, any time soon, says actor Scott Wolf. [USA Today]

Morena Baccarin says Anna doesn't have a huge un-masking moment in the first four episodes, but there may be some effects added to her face to give a glimpse of the lizard beneath. She meets Tyler, Erica's son, setting up a plotline in which Erica may have to challenge Anna to save her son. In the next few episodes:

We get to see more about how the Vs live. There are more hints at how they do certain things and there's some really great plot twists. [There are] characters' worlds that collide that you wouldn't expect.

[TV Guide]

Here's what happens in the last episode of 2009, "It's Only The Beginning":

Erica works with newly-formed allies to uncover a biological threat they suspect the Visitors have been plotting. Aboard the Mothership, Anna meets with a special guest while managing the investigation into the murder of a V. And Chad does a segment on the V Healing Centers, demonstrating their amazing medical abilities, but then finds himself conflicted by some of his findings

[SpoilerTV]

Dollhouse:

An interview with Eliza Dushku, where she talks about getting shot, green goo, G.I. Jane, and duking it out with Summer Glau. Most of the spoilery stuff is towards the end. [SpoilerTV]

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus:

Here's a new U.S. poster for Terry Gilliam's next film — click on the link to see the whole thing. [Slashfilm]

Fringe:

Here are some promo pics for episode seven, "Of Human Action." [Fringe Television]

Supernatural:

A new clip from Thursday's episode, in which Chuck the Prophet gets manipulated. (You'd think his prophetic powers would prevent this sort of thing.)

And here are the first four episode titles of 2010, all of which have a definite movie theme going on: "Sam, Interrupted," "Being Sam Winchester," "Back to the Future II," and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid". [SpoilerTV]

2012:

A fairly damning review at Hollywood Reporter includes a few spoilers. This movie steals sequences from "Earthquake," "The Poseidon Adventure," "Volcano," and even "Titanic." And it follows a dozen characters through various scrapes. There's a corrupt presidential aide (Oliver Platt) who has to choose who gets to go on the nuclear version of Noah's Ark and survive the devastation. You'll know who's going to die in this movie — it's anyone who's committed any sort of "extramarital transgression." [THR]

The Prisoner:

James Caviezel and Jamie Campbell Bower are interviewed about their roles in this remake of the classic series.

True Blood:

Looks like we'll be meeting Bill's ex, judging from this casting call:

[CAROLINE COMPTON] 20's. Seen in 1866, a lovely, very strong, brave, well-bred and well-spoken Southern woman, Caroline pulls a shotgun on the intruder into her house—clearly prepared to use it—till she realizes it's her husband Bill (Stephen Moyer), whom she was sure had died in the War sptv050769. THIS IS A GREAT SCENE...ACTRESS SHOULD RESEMBLE THE ACTRESS IN THE ATTACHED PHOTO

And here's the photo in question. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

The season's 13th and 14th episodes, respectively, will be called "Hubris" and "Conspiracy." [KryptonSite]

And here's a clip from Friday's episode, "Idol".

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Monday

What better way to start off the week than with a Syfy marathon of Stargate SG-1 running right now, from 8am all the way through to 3pm? Sure, there's that whole "work" thing, but come on. It's Stargate!

Otherwise, your television thrills are limited to an 8pm conflict between new episodes of House on Fox (A teenage girl can't distinguish between fact and fiction "after a wild night out." Am I the only one who feels like this could be either awesome or hideously embarrassing for all involved?) and Heroes on NBC, where Sylar is still trying to take control of Matt's body and Claire has to face off with her father's Sorority Girl Army. And, yes, I did accidentally make that sound more interesting than the actual show. Sorry, everyone.

Tuesday

For those calling in sick, I'd recommend skipping Syfy's Tru Calling marathon (8am through 3pm for those whose love of Dushku overpowers their bad-show gag reflex) and tuning into AMC, which goes dragon crazy with a 12:45 airing of Dragonheart (Dennis Quaid and a dragon voiced by Sean Connery!) followed by a 3pm re-run of Reign of Fire (You could stay tuned for a 5pm Batman Begins and 8pm Terminator 2: Judgment Day as well, if you were feeling particularly lazy).

If you'd rather get a delayed British take on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, then James May On The Moon (BBC America at 8pm) takes Top Gear's Captain Slow and puts him in the driver's seat for an hour long look back at those heady days where men were men and the Moon seemed an obtainable destination.

Otherwise, click over to ABC for the second episode of V and see whether it still feels like FlashForward meets... Well, the old V, really (The official PR for the episode says "A seeker among the Visitors tracks Erica and Father Jack. Chad seeks redemption by investigating the aliens ahead of his next newscast while law enforcers press Erica for information concerning Dale M…").

Wednesday

Thank God for Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel at 9pm. Without their investigation into whether cars will automatically burst into flames after crashing (Surely we have empirical proof that the answer is no already?), I'd have to find some way to pretend that Glee (Fox at 9) was a scifi show just to have something to write about for today. I figured I could always claim that it was set in an alternate reality where people aren't creeped out by Will Schuester trying to rap.

Thursday
If it's Thursday, then it's time for all the shows to run up against each other again. Sure, you could pretend that the networks aren't showing anything and watch a double bill of Demolition Man and End of Days on AMC (Sly and Arnold! In two of their most underrated - for a reason - movies! It starts at 8pm, if you're tempted), after spending the day watching Syfy's Star Trek: Enterprise marathon (8am through 3pm, as ever), but come on. I know that you can't resist the big shows people are talking about.

On FlashForward (ABC, 8pm), Aaron discovers the truth about his daughter's death, Janis returns to work and Mark and Olivia's martial troubles bring everyone down yet again, man. Things are much more fun over in Mystic Falls where Vampire Diaries (the CW at 8pm) brings a mysterious new teacher, arguments over medallions and, according to the CW, "Damon finally reveals to Stefan the stunning reason he has returned to Mystic Falls." If I watched the show and/or cared, I couldn't wait!

9pm brings the real reason to wrestle over the remote; Fringe on Fox gives Olivia, Broyles and Peter a new reason to be suspicious of Massive Dynamic when the impossibly shady corporation turn out to be involved in a kidnapping case, but Supernatural (The CW) looks much more fun than even Walter Bishop could provide:

Super fan Becky uses Chuck's phone to trick Sam and Dean into attending a Supernatural fan convention, complete with fans dressed up as Sam and Dean. One of the activities is a live action role-playing game, but things quickly turn sour after a real ghost appears on the scene.

Seriously. How could anyone resist that?

Friday

Jericho fans! You have the Syfy marathon of the day (8am through 3pm, which I'm sure you already know by now) to keep you happy during the daylight hours; the rest of us will be watching the original The War Of The Worlds movie on AMC at 10:15am (And avoiding the following Star Trek: Nemesis at 12:15pm, a movie which can best be described by blogger Kevin Church here), instead.

Still, Friday evening starts the weekend off right with the double bill of Batman: The Brave and The Bold ("The Fate of Equinox!" Yes, the exclamation point is part of the title) and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (following last week's surprisingly brutal, "Are Jedi really advocating using flame throwers against living beings what the hell?" episode) on Cartoon Network, starting at 7:30pm (Clone Wars is at 8pm, if you have an aversion of Batman. And if you do, then I'm very, very sorry.)

If you're in the mood for MOR dramas teasing the supernatural, then CBS is the place to be tonight, with new episodes of both Ghost Whisperer (8pm, with Jennifer Love Hewitt "pulled into a murder mystery by a real estate power couple" - Yes, this is what people want to watch, apparently) and Medium (9pm, which at least includes a potentially amusing-for-the-wrong-reasons subplot about posting videos of someone on the internet and "getting into trouble") on offer.

The rest of us, we'll be considering Smallville on the CW at 8pm (It features the Wonder Twins! You know you want to), Stargate Universe on Syfy at 9pm (The crew of the Destiny get a message from their future selves from the past. Or something) and Sanctuary on the same channel at 10pm.

Saturday

If you're not looking forward to Syfy's Ice Twisters at 9pm ("A sci-fi novelist is summoned to help scientists after an experiment in weather manipulation goes awry and produces deadly tornadoes made of ice," apparently), then we'd suggest that AMC's double bill of trilogies is the best way to spend your day. Start with the Mad Max trilogy (Movies starting 1:30, 3:30 and 5:30pm) before a night of The Matrix trilogy (The three movies begin at 8pm, 11pm and 1am on Sunday, respectively). Otherwise, the only thing left is Discovery's Surviving 2012... which is about all the prophecies, and not, sadly, advice on making it through Roland Emmerich's latest.

Sunday

It's the best night of television this week! Who knew, right? Start things off right with Syfy's latest screening of Serenity at 6:30 before switching over midway through - Hopefully missing Alan Tudyk's least favorite scene ever in the process - to catch the premiere of AMC's brand new take on The Prisoner at 8pm. If Ian McKellan and Jim Caviezel can't bring Patrick McGoohan's classic paranoiafest back to life, I'm going to be very depressed.

Of course, the best way to finish the evening off is coming at midnight, with the latest episode of The Venture Bros on Cartoon Network. Can we all just admit that it's the smartest and funniest show on television already?

Thursday night's "Changing Channels" was a tip of the hat to the culty 90s John Ritter movie Stay Tuned, where a poor sod (Ritter) is sucked into his tube and must endure a hell of genre television shows. The episode begins with a fantastic sendup of sitcom credits and opening dialogue, complete with laugh track. Watching Sam and Dean ham their way through a wacky-doo apocalypse scenario is fun partly because it reminds you how goofy Supernatural already is.

But when the boys find themselves in a version of Gray's Anatomy called Doctor Sexy (complete with plinky girl rock), everything starts to get ugly. A trickster that the boys have tangled with before shows himself, admits he's playing a game with them, and then a disgruntled patient shoots Dean. Things really get ugly when the newly-patched Dean is sucked into a Japanese game show where he and Sam have to answer questions in Japanese to avoid having mallets smash into their balls.

When Castiel arrives in the game show but can't use his powers to rescue them, the brothers realize that the trickster is far more powerful than they expected. Earlier, Sam begged the trickster to help them stop Armageddon, but the possibility that he will help is getting slimmer and slimmer. The trickster seems both more hostile and more powerful than what they'd expected.

After uncomfortably mouthing their way through genital warts commercials, more Doctor Sexy, and a completely silly sendup of CSI Miami, the boys are getting desperate. As long as they stick to their roles, they manage to survive each show. But the trickster is getting creepier, and banishes a beaten-up looking Castiel again before the Winchesters can do anything about it.

Turns out that the trickster is using the TV torment to teach the boys that they have "roles to play," as the vessels of Michael and Lucifer - "your celebrity deathmatch," he clarifies. When the brothers refuse, he banishes them to a stint on CSI Miami, and Dean fumes, "I hate procedural cop drama!" Things get even worse when the boys stab the trickster with a stake - which should kill him - and find themselves weirdly thrust into a Knight Rider episode where Sam is KITT. At last the brothers connect the dot: The trickster's obsession with the boys becoming angel meatsuits makes it seem like he might be an angel.

So Dean captures the trickster in a ring of burning holy oil. And wouldn't you know it - he reveals that he's been the semi-fallen angel Gabriel all along (which is kind of a retcon since we saw this character before and he came off as a regular old trickster).

"Where'd you get the holy oil?" Gabriel asks.

"You might say we pulled it out of Sam's ass," Dean growls. Ah, the KITT jokes just keep on coming. This show rules.

Like all the angels, Gabriel is stick of living in a world where his brothers are killing each other and his father is MIA. He just wants to get the whole Earth enema over with. "What you guys call the apocalypse I used to call Sunday dinner," he yells. "This is about two brothers betraying each other." That's why two troubled brothers have to play their roles as angelic sausage casings.

"I wish this were a TV show . . . easy answers," Gabriel adds.

I like the bittersweet final moments of "Changing Channels," where the nightmarish torture that is television turns out to be better than a real world where angels are trying to kill each other. Then, after Gabriel whines some more about how there is nothing the Winchesters can do about the apocalypse, Dean gives him the total armchair psychologist smackdown.

"This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family!" he shouts at Gabriel.

As we learn more about the deep game that is Armageddon, it's becoming obvious that heaven was some kind of hippie fascist dictatorship, where a loving Father expected unquestioning obedience from his loving children. The angels are all like recovering abused children, or maybe badly-deprogrammed cultists with no direction now that their charismatic guru is gone. It's an interesting interpretation of Heavenly politics, and provides a nice counterpoint to Sam and Dean's own family traumas.

Another way to look at this episode is as another chapter in the "meta" arc that's being developed this season. The meta episodes began with "The Monster At The End of This Book," an episode last season where the brothers discovered that a prophet/genre writer has been chronicling their lives in a series of books called Supernatural. Since then, the brothers have met fans of their books, and even discovered Wincest fanfic online. Supernatural is a show that constantly comments on its own fandom, and in this episode it comment on the kinds of television that inspires fandom.

These fan-loved shows offer a glimpse of a simpler world, one that even angels yearn for when times are tough. But the trouble with TV is that it's always locking people into narrow roles that leave no room for choice. In the Supernatural metaverse, television is our salvation - and our prison.

Captain Kirk velvet painting from The Velvet Store

Admiral Ackbar velvet painting from eBay auction.

Velvet Yoda painting for sale here, for just $1,500. Cheap!

Velvet Yoda Elvis painting, from BoingBong

Unicorns in space, from BoingBoing!

Star Wars poster on black velvet, from Mike Jackiw.

U.S.S. Enterprise on black velvet — sorry this is so low-res, but I had to include it. From Who Would Buy That? via Site Du Jour.

Chewbacca, plus weird creepy angel heads, on black velvet. From Brancusi7 on Flickr.

Baby Princess Leia on black velvet, from Bonnie Burton at the Star Wars Blog. (Thanks Bonnie!)

Admiral Ackbar (again!) From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

Unicorn on the Moon! From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

Wesley Crusher! As presented to Wil Wheaton. From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

The Winchester Bros. From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

A Sleestak, in contemplation. From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

The Joker. From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

Kim Jong Il and another Sleestak (why??) From Indignico Inc. on Flickr.

The Avengers:

More on Edward Norton's will-he-won't-he dance, with regards to returning as the Hulk. It doesn't sound like Norton's had any talks with Marvel, and he says he has no idea where they're at with this project. Nor is he terribly interested, unless Marvel comes to him with something especially fascinating. (But I'd be shocked if Marvel doesn't have Norton under contract for one or two more movies, in which case his interest, or lack thereof, would be irrelvevant.) [AICN]

Resident Evil 4:

Milla Jovovich Tweeted from the set of this film, and mentioned that the final shot of the film is a 3-D shot from high up, so they had to hoist a 3-D camera using a custom-made rig. And there's a scene where she lands a plane on a boat, and it looks like it's crashing — hundreds of neighbors called 911 to report a plane crash. And Alice and Claire fight the Executioner, an eight-foot-tall boxer toting a huge axe. They fight him in a prison shower, and every time he swings his axe, showers explode, so it's sort of raining. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Red Dawn:

The China-invades-America movie involves blowing up all of downtown Detroit, says Josh Hutcherson. And he describes his character, based on C. Thomas Howell's from the original: "In the story, I start out as not a geek, but sort of a tech guy. And by the end, I'm a total warrior, drinking blood from the animals and going crazy." [MTV]

Ghost Rider 2:

This movie will be darker and "more existential" than the first movie, but won't be a reboot, says writer David S. Goyer. Not that much is changing from his old screenplay, which is available online somewhere, but it'll be toned down to get a PG-13 rating. And it takes place eight years after the first film, when Ghost Rider is in a darker place. [MTV]

Doctor Who:

OMG new trailer for "The Waters Of Mars." So scary. [Oh No They Didn't]

And here are three whole minutes of the episode, of which about two minutes are new. Cannot. Wait. [Guardian]

And here are the episode descriptions for the (incredibly poorly) animated adventure "Dreamland":

Episode 1: Dry Springs, Nevada, 1958. The Doctor befriends a young waitress, Cassie, and her friend, Jimmy, at a diner. The Doctor activates an alien artefact and, after finding further signs of alien activity, the US Army intervenes and takes him and his new companions to the mysterious Area 51 in Roswell, where they find out about Operation Fallen Angel. Will Operation leader Colonel Stark succeed in making the curious trio forget what they have just seen?

Episode 2: Seeking refuge in the abandoned town of Solitude, Jimmy stumbles across a disconcerting discovery and the trio encounter Viperox royalty.

Episode 3: The Doctor cannot understand why the Alliance of Shades' mop-up team are more concerned with the whereabouts of a piece of space flight hardware than the hordes of Viperox pods hidden underground. Things start to fall into place when Jimmy's grandfather, Night Eagle, introduces the Doctor to Rivesh Mantilax.

Episode 4: Captured by the US Army, Rivesh is finally reunited with his wife, Saruba Velak. Meanwhile, the Doctor discovers the unsettling truth about his real identity.

Episode 5: The Doctor and Saruba have to confront the mysterious alien force in the vault housing her space ship if they are to save her husband and stop Lord Azlok from rousing his sleeping army.

Episode 6: As sunset falls, the Viperox drones start to attack the US Army base. Can the Doctor find a way to halt the seemingly unstoppable aliens in their tracks?

[BlogtorWho]

Fringe:

In tonight's Broyles-centric episode, Broyles will step on quite a few toes to solve the case that's personal to him. And there be cosmonauts and cover-ups, and we'll discover the CIA's extraterrestrial connection. [EW]

Also, turns out the Broyles in the alternate universe is a happily married man. [TV Guide]

Here are a few characters we'll meet in episode 2x13, from a casting call. [SpoilerTV]

[ALFRED] Mid 30's to early 40's male, blond hair and blue eyes, with a slight German accent. He's a young Aryan with a bad boys vibe. Guest Star

[NANA] Nana is 80 with a slight Eastern European accent. Really good Co-Star or possible Guest Star.

[ELIZA] Mother of the groom in her 60's. She's warm and sympathetic. Really good Co-Star or possible Guest Star

A few new set pics show our heroes hanging out by a police car. [SpoilerTV]

And a couple sneak peeks:

The Box:

The early reviews for this Richard Kelly tripfest are out, and... they're not very positive, sadly. But there are spoilers! Apparently, the box with the mysterious money-making, stranger-killing button is somehow connected to Arthur (James Marsden)'s work with NASA's Mars mission. The couple traces the license plate of the limo carrying around the burnt-faced Frank Langella to NASA, and then one of Arthur's NASA colleagues kills wife. Children get kidnapped, zombie civil servants chase the couple around, and then there are hints that aliens are behind the whole thing. There are bleeding noses, and Norma (Cameron Diaz) hires a babysitter without checking her references. Oh, and Arthur and Norma aren't broke, like in the original version of the story — they're well off, but their kid's tuition is going up slightly. [Reuters]

The Men Who Stare At Goats:

Here's a new TV ad showcasing this whimsical psychic-soldier film:

Supernatural:

In the upcoming body-switching episode, Sam and Dean swap bodies with each other, and with a couple other characters. [EW]

I think we mentioned a while back that Lucifer would be trapping Castiel in an upcoming episode. Here are a couple behind-the-scenes pics. [LilMissX on TwitPic via Chicago Tribune]

And here are some pics from the last episode of the year, "Abandon All Hope," in which an all-star cast goes up against Lucifer. And Mark Shepherd's demon character, Crowley, has the Colt! [Chicago Tribune and SpoilerTV]

Caprica:

We already showed you some new TV spots for this BSG prequel, but here's a bit more footage... including our first look at James "Spike" Marsters as terrorist leader Barnabus Greeley. [CapricaTV]

Chuck:

Chuck meets Batman! At least, Dietrich Bader will guest star in the ninth episode of the season, "Chuck Vs. The Beard," directed by Zachary Levi. [EW]

FlashForward:

This week's episode is supposed to be a great improvement over recent outings, and we may actually learn the significance of the blue hand. [EW]

And in case you're not getting the message that tonight's episode is going to be good for a change, David S. Goyer tells MTV it may be the best thing he's ever worked on, including The Dark Knight. It's a gamechanger, and here's what happens:

Titled "The Gift," this week's episode focuses on Agents Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young) and Demetri Noh's (John Cho) continued investigation into the mysterious Blue Hand, which Goyer described as an organization "with a very specific purpose in mind." Over the course of their investigation, a shadowy figure by the name of Jeff Slingerland (Callum Keith Rennie of "Battlestar Galactica") is revealed as a new nemesis with connections to the Blue Hand.

In addition to the Blue Hand, the episode deals with Demetri's lack of a flashforward and his subsequently tenuous relationship with fiance Zoey (Gabrielle Union).

[MTV]

And a casting call for episode 13 makes it sound like we're going to Somalia:

[MALVEAUX] 40s, Male, Caucasian. A tough-looking mercenary working security on a dangerous job. A more muscular Jean Reno..

[KORFA] 9-11, Somalian, Male. A young Somali boy fighting with a friend over a toy. Dialogue in Somali..

[SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

Terry and Arlene will make a surprising discovery that brings them closer together — sounds like all their loving under the influence of Maryann's spell has left Arlene pregnant. [TV Guide]

Smallville:

Rumor control: There's no official word that the show is going to turn into a sequel called Metropolis. Michael Rosenbaum hung out with the writers recently, but there are no plans for Lex to come back — even though everyone wishes he would. Also, Perry White isn't reappearing any time soon. [EW]

Heroes:

Hiro will stay with the carnies at least through the Thanksgiving episode, which sees ballroom dancing with weird masks, and zzzzzzzzz. Oh sorry. Dozed off. Anyway. Hiro is with the carnies for a while. [TV Guide]

And here's the description for that episode, "Thanksgiving":

H.R.G. hosts an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner; the Petrelli family receives a surprise guest; Lydia searches for the truth.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.