TVSquad

(S08E22) No sir, I didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

I'm talking about the series finale of the WB's Charmed , which ended its eighth and final season on Sunday night. What should have been a great sendoff by producers and writers for the Halliwell sisters Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Paige (Rose McGowan) was flat, disappointing, and focused more on the secondary players than The Charmed Ones.

However, that's not the reason why I disliked the episode. The thing that ticked me off was the magical device that Piper, the oldest sister, used in order to save Phoebe and Paige form a horrible death that they encountered last episode. A device that, in my opinion, is the lazy way out of resolving issues.

I'm talking about . . . .wait for it . . . time travel. Aarrrgh!

We thought the show was over. It was announced way back in November of 2005 that this would be the last season of the WB's family drama 7th Heaven. Then, The CW came along, which merged the UPN and WB networks into one, and there were new rumors of the show being renewed. The rumors became truth this past week when The CW announced an 11th season of the show during its upfronts.

This, of course, led everyone else to the most logical question to ask about this whole situation:  What the hell?

It turns out that the executives at The CW were probably asking the same question themselves, since they didn't know the status of the show until the last minute. According to statements made at Thursday's upfronts the renewal decision was made sometime between the promotion of and airing of the series finale and the upfront presentation. After looking at the show's ratings (7 million for the finale and 5.2 million during the rest of the season, making it the most-watched show on either the WB or UPN) the cost of the show, and the rest of the new CW schedule, the decision was made to bring back the Camden brood.

 

The CW (formerly known as UPN and The WB, its official logo to the right) officially announces its 2006-07 prime-time schedule today, though there was a preview given last night. Some favorites from both old networks have made the cut, while there are some fans of old shows who will likely feel disappointed. The changes in brief:

Returning: 7th Heaven; Gilmore Girls; Smallville; Beauty and the Geek; Supernatural; One Tree Hill; All of Us; Girlfriends; Veronica Mars; WWE Smackdown; America's Next Top Model; Everybody Hates Chris.

Out: The Bedford Diaries; Blue Collar TV; Everwood; Living With Fran; Modern Men; Pepper Dennis; Reba; Related; Survival of the Richest; Twins; Cuts; Eve; Get This Party Started; Half & Half; Love, Inc.; One on One; South Beach; What I Like About You; Charmed.

New: Runaway; The Game; Palm Springs.

Moving: Everbody Hates Chris (to Sundays at 8); All Of Me (to Sundays); Girlfriends (to Sundays); The Game (Sundays); One Tree Hill (Wednesdays at 9).

Check back here later in the day for any updates that may come from the official Upfront presentation. Detailed descriptions of the new shows are after the jump below.

[Thanks to The Futon Critic for the info.]

What is the deal with all the on-again, off-again news about 7th Heaven? I'm really sick of the show and I don't even watch it! The latest, coming from Mediaweek, is that The CW has ordered up 13 episodes of an 11th season of 7th Heaven (which Bob says had a crappy finale earlier this week). We'll know for sure on Thursday when The CW announces its fall schedule. As of now, The CW is refusing to comment.

In case you're keeping track, last November WB announced this was the final season of 7th Heaven. The cast even had a big series wrap party after shooting the last episode. But, now that WB and UPN are no more, The CW reportedly wants WB's highest-rated show on its network. It makes sense. But, why all the back and forth about whether the show is over?

[Grazie, Vito]

(S05E22) Smallville really takes a lot out of you with the season finales. They take the concept of a cliffhanger and just screw you up the butt with it. Yup, I said it. I feel a little bit sodomized after tonight's episode. It's the same thing every season -- the long, drawn-out climax and then ugh...it sorta hurts there at the end.

And, this season's finale was no different.   

(S06E22) After all the criticism that's been heaped on the Palladinos lately, from their departure from Gilmore Girls to the depressing storylines they've written this season, it's time for me to give them some praise. First of all, despite everything, I'm going to miss them; Amy Sherman-Palladino's voice is unique in the TV universe and GG is not going to be the same without her or her husband Daniel. So I want to thank them for giving me and a loyal fan base an entertaining, funny, and charming show for six years.

As far this episode, one that essentially explodes the world of GG as we know it, is concerned, I will give AS-P praise for this: Lorelai's look.

So let me get this straight: not only did Lucy announce last night that she and her husband were going to have twins, her sister Mary came back and announced she and her husband were going to have twins? And also brother Matt came back and announced his wife was pregnant with twins too? And they're parents had twins?

Oh, come on!

I know that twins run in families, but this was, like, nutso. Have they been going through some weird scientific experiments or something? It was as if the writers said, "you know, a happy ending to the show isn't enough, let's make it a double happy ending!"

The CW is reportedly considering taking a hefty financial loss in order to push Reba off its schedule. Reba is currently in a two-year deal with WB, which will cease to exist this fall and be replaced by The CW. The new network apparently doesn't think 51-year-old country star Reba McEntire fits in with the hip image it's trying to portray, but getting rid of the show before its contract is up will cost a lot of money. $20 million to be exact. According to Broadcasting & Cable, it's a smart move to get rid of Reba to look cool to the target demographic of young kids.

Does anybody out there watch Reba? It looks like wholesome fun. We can't have any of that!

Variety is reporting that Monday night's episode is in fact the series finale for 7th Heaven. I guess all those rumors that the show was getting an 11th season were really just rumors. WB had previously announced that this season was the final one but when WB and UPN caved, things weren't so clear with new network The CW.

The show will wrap up with the return of Jessica Biel and Barry Watson, just in time for Simon Camden's marriage to Rose. "We think it will be pretty satisfying to people," said Stephen Collins, who plays Eric Camden.

(S05E21) Whew. I don't know how I feel about last night's episode. Basically, it confused the crap out of me, but I think that was the point. It was all just a tease for the finale, which is next Thursday.

Still, there was a lot of stuff that the writers could have tidied up a bit. Namely, the Kryptonian Alphabet.How come Clark can't read Kryptonian letters? Didn't he learn Kryptonian back in like Season 2? Here is Lionel handing him a treasure map of Kryptonian goodness and Clark just shrugs and goes, "What does it say? I don't know." That was just dumb.

As I mentioned in a previous post back at the beginning of April, the WB's Charmed is ending its eight-season run in a few weeks and a few of its cast members, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan, to give examples, are not happy at all about the way the network treated them. They say that, even if the show went on for a ninth season aboard the new CW network, they would not renew their contracts.

Despite this news, the support for the show has been pretty overwhelming. From the comments made on the post, there are still many passionate fans of the show who would like to see it continue. This got me to thinking, which is always a bad sign.. there must be a place on the Internet where fans of the show can go to and show their support. Well, after a lengthy Internet search (OK, it was five seconds after I entered 'Save Charmed' in Google) I may have found such an outlet.

The Petition Spot web site currently has a ongoing petition to save Charmed from the cancellation axe. At this moment, there are nearly 1400 signatures on the list. The goal listed is 5,000 signatures. Once they reach that goal, they will present the petition to Warner Brothers, the company that distributes Charmed. So, all of you fans who sent comments to my previous post, get started on that petition!

Fran Drescher either has superior genes or a great plastic surgeon, because, at 48, she looks like she could pass for 35. I mean, this is a woman who was in Saturday Night Fever, for Christ's sake. But the former star of The Nanny seems to be aging very, very slowly, to the point where you have to wonder if she's got a got a photo of her aging self stored away in her basement somewhere.

You can tell she knows she's lucky; she's taking any advantage she can to show herself off. Not only does she like to go to parties in outfits that don't leave a lot to the imagination (see the picture with this post), but she has no compunction about stripping down to her bra and panties on stage, as she's doing right now in the Off-Broadway play Some Girl(s), which is written by Neil LaBute. In this New York Observer profile, Drescher talks about the play, her non-dating life, her former relationship with a younger man, and the chances that her current sitcom, Living with Fran, is coming back (she doesn't think it is, and doesn't seem to mind).

It's that time of year again, folks! Yep, some of your favorite shows are on the cancellation bubble and you can vote on which ones you'd like to see next fall and ones that should go far, far away. It's an annual tradition that sometimes predicts what shows will be renewed and which shows won't. So far you want your Scrubs.

In fact, according to the ninth annual USA Today 'Save Our Shows' survey (say that five times fast) a whopping 61 percent of you would like to see the NBC comedy renewed for a sixth season. Only fourteen percent of you want to see the show die a quick death. Scrubs is a good bet to be renewed for the fall, as long as the network is willing to pony up the increased dough to the show's production company,  Touchstone Television. If NBC doesn't renew the program there is an equally good chance that Touchstone's sibling ABC (both are owned by Disney) would pick up the show.

Six more shows on the USA Today survey have more supporters than detractors: Veronica Mars (UPN), Commander in Chief (ABC), Everwood (WB), Invasion (ABC), Reba (WB) and The King of Queens (CBS). After ABC shelved Commander in Chief this week, there is a good chance that it will not be renewed; Kevin James, the star of The King of Queens, wants a bigger paycheck for the new season; and Veronica Mars and Reba are vying for spots on the new CW network, which will be a combination of the WB and UPN.

What shows have the least amount of supporters? FOX's one-camera comedies The Loop and Free Ride and UPN's Half and Half  and One on One.

 

(S06E21) This season's going to end badly, isn't it?

I mean, we all see it now, don't we? Lorelai thinks that her engagement is kaput and Luke doesn't have a clue. Emily is hinting around at how much Christopher has changed, torturing Lor with a  matchmaking list of snooty society women that they both know aren't right for him (of course we all know who is, right)? She shows Lorelai the gorgeous house that she and Richard are buying for Luke and Lorelai, and Lor just breaks down (slowly, but still...).

So here we are. One episode left, and it doesn't take a spoiler to show us that the Palladinos are going to leave Luke and Lor in tatters, with Lor in the arms of Christopher. Not exactly the way anyone planned their exit, was it?

Ah, spring! Warm days and cool nights, the sounds of children playing. Short pants and short dresses as the first wisps of summer arrive. It is a time of renewal; except, of course, for the television networks. For them, spring, and particularly the month of May, represents one thing only: season and series finales.

Yep, after a long, hard year it's time to say good-bye to some of your favorite characters and shows as they leave for the summer, or perhaps for good if they are not renewed or are ending their series runs. In place of them will be endless reruns, summer replacements, and Big Brother. May the Lord help us all!

Being the networks, who want to maximize the most viewership and advertising dollars, these finales are not just during one week in May, but are staggered throughout the whole month. Some even leak into the first week of June. This can be very confusing to keep track of and may cause your DVR to have a meltdown. However, fear not true TV Squad readers, because we are here to list the finales of the shows you watch the most. I mean, gosh, we would be remiss if we didn't provide information on the last episode of Lost for the year (May 24th) or the series finale of Alias (May 22nd). It would be just scandalous.

Oh, one more thing before you make the jump . . . if you don't see your favorite show on this list, or want to see when some of the famous May special events are being broadcast (such as The 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards) click on this link for a full listing from AOL Television. Okay, all ready? Then, let's get this show on the road.