Reaper

There are a lot of shows with their heads on the chopping block, but one that truly deserves a stay of execution is furiously wiggling its head out of the neck brace.

Show producers are negotiating with local CW affiliates to bring Reaper back on Sunday nights next season in syndication. The deal could also bring the show to cable.

The Hollywood Reporter, however, notes that either scenario is a bigger long shot than Roseanne's chances of getting another crack at singing the National Anthem at a Padres' home game.

Everybody loves a good mystery. Well maybe not everybody if the ratings for Harper's Island are any indication. But mysteries and suspense have been a part of television since it's inception. It's one thing for the plot to be full of mysteries. Things like "Who shot J.R.?" can become a part of popular culture. But J.R. himself wasn't a mystery, we knew him pretty well.

But there are those characters we don't know much about. Think about Benjamin Linus from Lost when he first appeared as Henry Gale among the Flight 815 survivors. There were so many secrets and mysteries surrounding him that we couldn't take our eyes off of him when he was on-screen. Well Ben's story may be more or less told, though something tells me there's still more to be gleaned, but there are plenty of familiar faces on television with not so familiar back-stories. And while Ben didn't make the list, that doesn't mean Lost went unrepresented.

If you just want the list, click here.

10 - Dr. Helen Magnus (Sanctuary, SyFy)

9 - Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood, BBC America)

8 - Castiel (Supernatural, The CW)

7 - Tony Almeida, (24, Fox)

6 - Angela Petrelli, (Heroes, NBC)

5 - The Devil (Reaper, The CW)

4 - Christina Scofield (Prison Break, Fox)

3 - The Doctor (Doctor Who, SyFy)

2 - Richard Alpert (Lost, ABC)

1 - Walter Bishop (Fringe, Fox)

Want to see the pictures or leave a comment? Click here.

Last week, TVSquad readers made our "Which shows are renewed, canceled, or on the bubble?" post the most viewed and most commented of the week. Most of the commenters voiced their opinions as to which show should be renewed, and since I also watch loads of TV, it's with no surprise that I wanted to chime in, as well. (Look for my "Series that I think should be canceled" post later this week.)

Here I present you, the 10 shows I think should be renewed. Note that I did not include in this list shows that have been confirmed as renewed by the network (such as Gossip Girl), nor those that have been officially canceled (bye bye Pushing Daisies).

If you just want the list, click here.

USA Today ran a poll of those shows considered "on the bubble" for renewal. The poll was asking fans which show they wanted to see renewed the most. If you were to just look at the comments I've seen here and across the web, I'd think the answer was pretty obvious. Unfortunately, a certain massively chinned man may be hurting it's chances, otherwise what else would that network have to replace it. Let's face it, a modest hit is a juggernaut when you're getting beaten at times by cable networks and The CW.

Also not a surprise is the show that came in dead last in the poll. I checked out the first episode and before it was even over I was jumping into the DVR and deleting that Season Pass, hoping nobody saw that I had put it on there. And considering the pedigree of the talent involved, it's a damn shame they put out such a steaming turd. Can you guess which shows topped and bottomed the list?

(S02E09) There were those expected Reaper funny moments, but overall, this was a pretty serious episode. We really only juggled two major storylines this week, and neither of them were about collecting escaped souls. We had Sam beginning his instruction in bringing about the end times as our main focus. On the opposite end of the spectrum, and providing the most laughs, surprisingly enough, was the ugly breakup saga of Nina and Ben.

Andi was right about Sam; he's getting darker for the world he's trapped in. His machinations tonight with the Devil's shut-in "girlfriend" Sandy were downright diabolical. Sure, his ultimate goal of taking down the Devil and freeing himself is noble, but is he willing to do too much to get out of it? Not that I really see a more pure approach working. In fact, I've always wondered just how much the Devil knows. I would think he knows everything that Sam does, even when Sam's trying to betray him or undercut him in some way. Hell, he's the Devil. He's probably proud of him when that happens.

(S02E08) In which Sam once again proves that he's in a world of poop and the Devil once again proves that he's evil.

With this show likely to not last beyond this season, I am wondering how the creators are going to end the show. Will they use a cliffhanger or at least give a satisfying ending to the viewers?

Tonight's episode juggled four storylines (and very successfully, I should say). The first involved Sam and his brother Morgan and their (non-)competition to catch a soul. The second was the search for the escaped soul Alan (a goal Andi desires so she can get back with Sam). The third was Sock's funeral misadventures. The fourth was Ben's relationship with both Nina and his grandmother.

They're really rushing this one out. Reaper's season two will hit DVD June 9 -- only two weeks after the season ends on The CW!

The DVD was originally set for an even earlier release, June 2, but the studio pushed it back a week for reasons unknown.

I'm really looking forward to this set. Reaper is one of those amazing but little-watched shows I can't seem to shut up about. I strongly encourage fans to pick this set up in June.

Like all good genre shows these days, Reaper will probably be "on the bubble" as the season winds down. The show's executive producers are reportedly leaving, and the fate of the show is hanging in the air. Good DVD sales might help Reaper get renewed for a third season. (Well, it couldn't hurt.)

Click through to see Sam and crew gettin' all Drunken Master on the DVD cover box.

Reaper is not just one of my favorite TV shows. It's also one of my TV's favorite surprises. Every time I watch an episode, my TV suffers a moral dilemma.

"This show is funny, witty, very entertaining and unafraid to be absurd and just plain bat#*$& crazy," my TV said to me during last week's episode. "Why the #*$& am I letting you watch it?"

It looks as though my TV is about to get its way. It always does. It cuts all my favorite scenes from Top Gear before they are transferred from the British to the American version. It never lets my TiVo keep an All in the Family episode past a couple of days. It would broadcast nothing but Billy Mays commercials in my head if it developed telepathy, and trust me, it's working on it. I'd throw the thing out the window, but that's not covered in the warranty. The manufacturer may not call that an "act of God," but I sure as hell would.

Lead characters are extremely important for TV series, as they are the basis of the shows' storylines. However, to make said lead characters shine and make the storylines interesting, supporting characters must be introduced. Sometimes, those characters have a major impact on a series and even end up becoming leads. Just see how Ben Linus on Lost was set to appear in a few episodes, but ended up being so helpful to the storyline and loved (or hated) by the fans that he became an integral part of the series and is now a major player on the show.

That compelled me to make a list of new supporting characters who helped make their series better this season. Since my list only has 10 items and because I don't watch all current TV series, I will have missed tons of supporting characters, so feel free to add to the list by commenting below. However, note that I restricted my list to supporting characters that were introduced THIS season. So the Ben Linuses of the TV world are not on the list.

(S01E05) "Lookin' sharp, Buffy, lookin' sharp." - Devil to Sam while he was holding a wooden stake

Season two of Reaper continues to entertain: it's funny, smart and unexpected, while still delivering all the things we loved about Reaper in season one. From using Sam's zombie dad to scare the poop out of Ben in the car, to the tongue-in-cheek shout-out to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this episode delivered.

One thing this episode did suffer from, though, is something I feared. Because they've introduced so many characters, we only saw a brief bit of them this week (and we didn't see Nina at all), and I was left wanting more of some. I guess we got a good fill of the dad, and it was so great to have demon Tony back. But I missed Nina, and I craved more Morgan. I'm wondering, too, if Kristen will end up being more than a bizarre sex symbol for Sock.

(S02E04) Reaper pulled it out again with another winner of an episode. Something tells me they know exactly what they are doing this season, and I'm loving every second of it.

Although I enjoyed the addition of Morgan, the Devil's other son, very much, I was getting a bit irritated that they kept introducing new characters -- Kristen, Nina, Morgan -- and just left the whole storyline with Sam's dad floating out there. I was getting nervous that they didn't really know what to do with it, so they were just going to drop it and hope we didn't remember. Well, they got back to it tonight, and I can't wait to see it all come together.

But we'll get to that later. Let's talk about the rest of the episode first...

(S02E03) "No, I'm not growing a douche tag!" - Sam to Ben when he suggests Sam grow a soul patch

The only way I can begin this review is... yay Reaper! The first two episodes this season were enjoyable and got me back into the Reaper spirit. Tonight's episode raised the game; the writers went beyond hitting their stride and hit it out of the park.

You think that's too strong a stance for this episode? Come, explore with me, if you will, the finer points of tonight's episode....

How'd Reaper do this week? As much as I enjoyed it, this episode has left me with a few longings for more. Don't worry, I wasn't wishing I was watching the 13 American Idol wannabes performing over on FOX, but I do think there are places that Reaper could go that would be extremely satisfying.

In fact, they went there at the end of season one. The conspiracy with Sam's dad (um, does Sam even know that his dad is alive?), the demon rebellion, Sam's true parentage ... I want more! When I saw Andrew Airlie's name in the opening credits, I got excited, thinking we were headed back to the darker side of Reaper, to the secrets of Sam's family (remember his mom digging up his dad at the end of season one?) and really getting to some good stuff.

Bah, I guess I'll have to wait for that, but I'm hoping they'll deliver. Reaper did deliver laughs and a bit of a story arc tonight.