TVSquad

With Clay Aiken having wrapped up his run as Sir Robin in Spamalot, the Idol quotient on Broadway was down. Fortunately for theatergoers, it's Taylor Hicks to the rescue. Kind of. He's a bit of a step down from Clay Aiken, isn't he? I mean, Clay's new album debuted at number four, and Taylor was dropped from his label.

Whichever way you see it, Hicks will be joining the cast of Grease to take on the role of Teen Angel. Should you be in the area, you can head over to the Brooks Atkinson Theater and hear his version of "Beauty School Dropout." An interesting TV side-note, this production of Grease stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm. You may remember them as being the winners of the ill-fated NBC show, You're The One That I Want.

(S03E16) Well, it's that time of the year again. Damned season finales everywhere you look. On the one hand, it's good, because a season finale usually means that you are going to get the good. On the other hand, it also means that we are now going to have to tuck our favorite characters away for the summer and occupy our time with something else, like books, or old beat up trucks. The goods were definitely in play for the Supernatural finale. For the last year we've all been wondering what would happen when time ran out on Dean's deal, and we finally found out.

Gallery: Supernatural

Among many announcements from TNT at upfront week was the stated goal to dramatically increase original content. The network aims to eventually reach 80% original content, with plans for three original nights a week by 2010. How are they going to reach those goals? With cops. Lots and lots of cops.

We've already heard about the new Donnie Wahlberg DEA series, Morse Code. Three other cop shows are in development at the network, including Delta Blues, from executive producer George Clooney, which follows the story of a Memphis cop who does a little Elvis impersonating on the side. 24 co-creator Joel Surnow is also joining the TNT family with an as yet untitled series built around an ATF agent. Finishing off the law enforcement party is Angel City. Written by L.A. cop Will Beall and Barry Schindel, Angel City is being compared to Adam-12. Read on past the jump for the less cuff-heavy goings on over at TNT.

Moonlight is not going to just go away quietly and join that long list of one-and-done shows. People keep saying it's over, but apparently not everyone is listening. The latest rumor, from Nikki Finke's blog, has the show landing at the CW. And how would that work, considering that the CW has already made their schedule? I'm glad you asked.

You may recall a post from a few days ago about the network throwing in the towel on Sunday nights. That has now been confirmed with their upfront announcements. Sundays have now been outsourced. Moonlight comes back into the picture as a possibility to fill one of those two hours for Media Rights Capital, the new programmers for Sunday nights. If they could get even 60 to 70 percent of the show's viewers to make the move with them, it could be the most watched show on the network. Something that sounds very plausible given the loyal following the show has developed. It's still firmly in long-shot territory, but has the makings of quite a story.

(S01E17) All things considered, this has been a pretty good week for Reaper. In light of the very real possibility that next week's season finale could have been a series finale, news that the show has been picked up for next season is cause for celebration. Sure, the thirteen episodes for mid-season part isn't ideal, but hey, gift horses and whatnot. I am already looking forward to a Reaper/Supernatural block on Thursday nights. And hey, there was a new episode too. There was a lot going on, but the big news was that after months of patience, there is finally some news on the contract. That, and the rest of the episode, after the jump.

Gallery: Reaper

Just like that, we are one week away from the finals. The final four met up at the ballroom Monday night to make their best cases for going forward to the big finale showdown next week. With the fan vote in play, who we will be seeing in the finals remains too close to call.

Jonathan Roberts is back this week to give his thoughts on all of the performances, and tackle some reader questions. Read on past the jump for his thoughts on adding lifts, ballroom in the Olympics, how the pros are cast on the show, and which MMORPG helps to fill up his free time.

Ok, it is after midnight here in the Jet City, and as I sit down to bang this post out on my beloved Model M it would appear that my tasty glass of juice is half empty. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind to spin this news in a positive direction that will lead to a 2009 full of Dollhouse win.

Tucked away in a report on various network goings on over at Hollywood Reporter is a little line that says "Dollhouse is expected to launch mid-season." This is me shaking my fist in the general direction of Fox and screaming "Khaaaaan!" Just, because. Doesn't this seem like a road that has been traveled before? It's one that usually leads to a pretty disappointing destination. We haven't seen the finished fall schedule yet, but I would wager that most of us could easily find three or four hours where the network would be better served by inserting Dollhouse. Highlights of what the networks have planned are available after the jump.

The wheels keep on turning for the Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica. Eric Stoltz is the latest addition to the cast. He'll be playing Daniel Graystone, wealthy computer engineer. Details are few and far between, of course, but so far we know that after a family tragedy he will use his knowledge of technology to forever change the future of Caprica. He's joined by Alessandra Toressani, who will play his daughter, Zoe. And if your mind just flashed to Stoltz in Killing Zoe, we're on the same page.

That news is given a bit more of a boost if you recall that Paula Malcomson has already been cast as Amanda Graystone, a surgeon described as "something of a double agent." Now, add that to the previously revealed bits that tell us the story takes place 50 years before Galactica and focuses on the creation of the Cylons. A picture starts to emerge.

Reports are now circulating that Jeff Archuleta, father of American Idol favorite David, has been banned from any rooms where his son is learning or rehearsing his songs. Nobody official is talking about it yet, but the anonymous sources have tales to tell. TMZ's source tells them that Jeff has caused problems with producers, the band, vocal coaches, and other contestants.

The tipping point seems to have been David's version of "Stand By Me." It's said that Jeff insisted on inserting a verse from Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" and the unauthorized change cost the show money. Now, I balk at anyone from Idol worrying over money, considering how much the show makes, and how little they pay the contestants, but I can see how a meddling stage parent could be a headache. And it does seem like a reasonable offense to help justify the bringing of the banhammer. Jeff will still be allowed to watch the live show from the audience, but will no longer be involved in any of the backstage preparations. The more interesting question is whether or not all of the bad press will have an effect on voting.

[Thanks Johari]

That is how it would appear. Variety is reporting that the network is close to a deal that will have an unnamed media buyer take over the night. Essentially, they will take on the role of producing all of the content, and selling the ad time, for the entire night. The spin is that the deal will allow the network to focus its attention on Monday through Friday.

You know, because it's that sixth day that has really been holding them back. Just the other day someone told me, "I'd really like to watch Gossip Girl, but damn, I hate that CW Sunday." The idea isn't a new one for TV in general. A lot of Saturday morning programming is handled in this fashion. And when Smackdown first came to the network, it was done as a time buy with the WWE.

(S03E15) The penultimate episode of season three went a long ways toward answering many of our questions. The season long question of whether or not Dean can get out of his deal remains up in the air, but we now know what has to be done to save him. All of those little bits were enough to sell this episode, but just for kicks and giggles, the fine folks over at Supernatural tossed in some answers about the controversial Bela. And even that wasn't enough. The monster of the week managed to tie both of those stories together, and give a shout out to John. There was a lot going on, and we'll get to it all, after the jump.

Gallery: Supernatural

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. The prospects for another strike went up as negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) once again broke down, with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) moving to negotiations with AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). Among the issues causing the split, and stop me if you've heard this one before, DVD residuals, streaming, and new media. Go figure. One new wrinkle in these negotiations comes in the form of an AMPTP provision that would give them free and unlimited use of short clips of an actor's work in movies and television.

(S06E16) It was a big night down at DWTS HQ. Not only would the field be set for the big semi-final showdown next week, it was also the show's 100th episode. That milestone meant that many of our favorites from seasons gone by were making their return to the ballroom. In addition, ABC recognized that nothing else they were going to put on tonight was going to measure up to DWTS numbers, so they kicked the whole thing off with a clip-show counting down the judge's ten favorite performances from the first five seasons. That list, and the rest of the results show goings on, after the jump.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Season 6, Week 8

Our resident Spaced-nut Annie mentioned the upcoming region 1 DVD set back in March. If you haven't seen the show, just the fact that it's coming out is reason enough to go pick it up. It really is as good as everyone says. But if you have seen the show, it looks like this one will be worth checking out for you as well.

As I was going about my workday, a little blurb popped up on twitter from Diablo Cody that said, "SPACED (The ORIGINAL!) is coming out on DVD soon! (And a lucky bitch named Diablo Cody got to contribute commentary.)" That's interesting enough, and you should check out her Twitter feed. It's an entertaining read. Even better though, she goes on to add that we can also expect commentary from Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt, Quentin Tarentino, Matt Stone, and Kevin Smith. Sign me up for that.

A curious search later, Google sent me to spaced-out.org.uk, which confirms the commentary and goes into further detail about the extras included on the new set. They also have some fun quotes about the show from J.J. Abrams, Kevin Smith and Matt Stone.

Week 8 brings us another chat with our favorite pro. This week Jonathan weighs in with his thoughts on all of the couple's performances and picks his favorite dance of the night. It was a better week for the judges, but there is still one dance that he didn't agree with them about...at all.

Along the way he talks about the difficulties the pros face choreographing the performances as they move further into the competition. We also get to some reader questions. Read on to hear about his trip to the White House, the most, and least, memorable moments from his years on the show, and a sneak peek at just what they have planned for Tuesday's big results show.