TVSquad

There is nothing inherently wrong with turning a TV series into a video game spinoff. It can fill in the gaps between seasons to quell the viewers' hunger, let audiences explore characters from new perspectives and even give the more hardcore couch potatoes some much needed exercise even if they only burned 1/100ths of a calorie solely through their thumbs.

The problem is video game developers pick TV shows that should never even become a travel sized board game. Developers have given the greenlight to games based on shows like American Idol, Desperate Housewives and even ... Grey's Anatomy?!? I hope that last one was a first-person shooter.

There are far better shows that offer far more entertaining elements for a kick-ass video game. These are the shows that should be next in line for a pixelated re-treatment.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Glee, 24, Melrose Place, Grey's Anatomy, Chuck, Scrubs and Fringe (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

The only part of the "Save Chuck" thing that I haven't been on board with is the fact that Subway is a part of it. Don't like Subway, with their microwaved meat and paltry toppings and lame service. I've always liked D'Angelo though, and in these ads they say why they're better (though they never utter Subway's name - trust me, they're talking about Subway).

[via AdFreak]

With DVRs and iTunes and Hulu and other ways to time shift your TV viewing, it's not necessary to watch TV when the shows air live. But a lot of people still plan their TV viewing for the night and actually sit down in front of the TV when their shows are on. Two of my favorite shows, Chuck and Heroes, ended their seasons last week. Now I have to find something else to watch between 8 and 10.

If you're a Chuck/Heroes fan, too, what are you watching tonight?

While they haven't yet made an announcement about other on-the-bubble shows, including Medium, Law & Order, and of course, Chuck, NBC's Ben Silverman has confirmed that Life has indeed been canceled. Life is just the latest victim of the Writers' Strike curse: ABC's Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money are among some of the other series that had their freshman seasons interrupted by the strike that began in November of 07, and won't live to see a third season.

Other second season shows, including the aforementioned Chuck, along with ABC's Samantha Who? and FOX's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are currently on the bubble. The CW's Gossip Girl is one of the few shows that premiered during the 07-08 season that is definitely going to make it to the 09-10 one.

The strike spooked the networks and advertisers, and we're obviously feeling the effects now, over a year after it ended. What it boils down to is a lot of great shows are suffering-- and Ben Silverman is a dick.

To me, this should be a no-brainer. NBC should renew Chuck for a third season, even if it only commits to 12 episodes, it should bring the show back. However, I'm not one of the geniuses in Jeff Zucker's world; you know, those mental giants that have committed five hours of prime time to Jay Leno starting next fall and recently signed up for more Donald Trump celebrity/reality BS. No, I'm just a loyal Chuck viewer who has seen a show improve from week to week culminating with a superb final two episodes in 2009.

Well, there were rumors that on Monday at NBC's "infront" -- a preview for the "upfront" -- that Chuck would get a pick up. TV Guide says that's not the case. On Friday, Chuck star Zachary Levi told a reporter that Josh Schwartz, the Chuck exec producer, had emailed him that NBC's decision about Chuck was on hold. The pick up, if it comes, won't be for a couple of weeks.

That's right. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clark Griswold himself is starring in a comedy pilot for NBC that's "pretty much a lock" to be picked up as a series.

The show is called Community and it's described as "Stripes at a community college." (Hmm. Didn't Stripes star Bill Murray and Harold Ramis?) If the series is picked up, it will mark Chevy Chase's first full-time primetime series gig.

Months ago, I would've been baffled by this news. The best thing Chase has done in the last ten years was probably his cameo in Orange County, or his brief appearance on Family Guy. I thought he'd be stuck in junk like Zoom and Funny Money forever, but then he started showing up on shows like Brothers & Sisters and Chuck.

Of course, a lot of fans do care, and they want at least one of these shows to be renewed last year (maybe even both). But in general? The ratings for the finales of both shows were rather lackluster at best.

The season finale of Heroes had an average of 6.4 million viewers, while Chuck got 6.1 million. Both of those numbers are actually down from the season average (7.7 million viewers for Heroes and 6.5 million for Chuck). Now, I'd love to have 6 or 7 million people reading my stuff, but I guess that's not enough in television land.

This is probably the web site version of the swine flu, meaning PLEASE DON'T PANIC, but it seems that NBC's web site is calling last night's awesome Chuck season finale ("Chuck Me!" - there's your catch phrase, fans) a "series finale" (on the right, near "Next On").

Of course, this could just be a lack of communication between the network and the people who maintain the web site. Maybe the person writing the headlines and posting the videos and putting up the descriptions put "series" instead of "season." But since Chuck is on the bubble and fans are really anxious to see if the show will come back for a third season, any little sign of news (good or bad) is something that gets our attention.

(S02E22) If this was the series finale for Chuck, it was a really satisfying and appropriate wrap up. If, as I'm hoping, it was only the season finale, this was a really satisfying and appropriate set up for the next season of Chuck. Therefore, any way you slice it, Chuck hit a lot of high notes -- including Jeffster's pre-wedding serenade. The show was filled with action, had new information that was just a little bit stunning, and overall, it was terrific.

Have I mentioned how much I love Ellie and Awesome's wedding ? She looked amazing in her wedding gown and after the chapel situation turned into a scene reminiscent of You Only Live Twice with guys parachuting in through the roof (only in Bond it was a volcano), the outdoor, California nuptials were not only nicer, it gave Chuck a chance to give Ellie the wedding she really wanted.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Surviving Suburbia and Castle.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has the season finales of Chuck and Heroes, then a new Medium.
• FOX has a new House at 8, then a new 24.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• There's a new Antiques Roadshow on PBS at 8, then a new American Experience.
• ABC Family has a new Greek at 8, then four new episodes of Roommates.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Masters of Illusion at 8, followed by a new Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed.
• TCM has The Blue Dahlia at 8, followed by The Dark Corner.
• Also at 8: Food Network has a new Good Eats.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• History Channel has a new Ax Men at 10.
• A&E has a new Paranormal State at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Tonight is the season finale of Chuck. Of course, you probably also realize that it could very well be the series finale of Chuck. Sure, it's a show with a big fan base, and quality-wise it's one of the best things on NBC. But that doesn't mean that NBC will realize what they have and renew. Not when they can save money with Biggest Loser: Pets or whatever show they come up with to put on Monday nights. Here's a sneak peek of tonight's season finale.

When Jericho was canceled, fans sent nuts to CBS and that made the network rethink their decision and we got another (short) season. Now there's a food-related effort to save NBC's Chuck.

Fans are organizing an effort to get people to go to Subway shops this Monday to support Chuck's season finale, which happens later that night. If that doesn't make sense to you, it's because Subway and their "$5 foot long" promotion were featured on the show a couple of weeks ago. Please do not start sending subs or sandwiches to NBC headquarters. That's not what this is about.

(S02E21) If you were waiting all season long for an episode this power-packed, you finally got your heart's desire. You wanted action; you got it. Story line development? Check. More about Sarah and Chuck? Casey in the middle of everything? Guest stars? References to pop culture and old movies? Morgan's deepest dreams revealed? Yep. This was the episode for you. The penultimate Chuck for season two -- and hopefully not the next to last of all time -- was perhaps the best episode of the year.

For sheer dynamics, the team was not working together. Casey, who was promoted and thus became the colonel of the title, was put in the tough position of having to apprehend Chuck and Sarah. Since they all know each other so well, there was no advantage on either side, and Chuck's emotional appeal about finding his father seemed to have little effect on Casey.

• WE has a Golden Girls marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Surviving Suburbia and Castle.
• NBC has a new Chuck at 8, then new episodes of Heroes and Medium.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and 24.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• PBS has a new Antiques Roadshow at 8, then a new American Experience.
• ABC Family has a new Greek at 8, followed by a new Roommates.
• At 9, MyNetwork TV has Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• HBO has three new episodes of In Treatment starting at 9.
• At 9:30, CBS has a new Rules of Engagement.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• A&E has a new Paranormal State at 10.
• Also at 10: History Channel has a new Ax Men.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.