TVSquad

For some reason, reporters were kicked out of the ballroom so ABC could set up for this press conference. But all I saw when I walked in an hour later was palm trees and 1973-era ABC signs (like in the picture above). Wonder why I had to abandon my laptop for that?

Anyway, because many of the critics were fans of the BBC original, the gathered throng of testy TV watchers were eager to question the panel for ABC's version of Life on Mars. It was a relatively small panel, with executive producers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, and stars Jason O'Mara and Michael Imperioli. You have to realize that having no pilot to base questions on makes us critics a cranky bunch, and the fact that the show is undergoing a show-runner change (from David E. Kelley to the Applebaum and Nemec), a massive recasting (all of the original pilot's cast, except for O'Mara, is being recast as we speak) and location change (LA to New York) only fuels more questions.

All things considered, the critics took it relatively easy on the panel.

After Jimmy Kimmel left the room, ABC Entertainment Steve McPherson got on with the business of facing the press at his executive session. I kicked it off with a question about Scrubs, following up on what Bill Lawrence told me in May about a possible "next generation" ninth season.

"We do think there's an opportunity after (this eighth season)," said McPherson. "If any or all the cast is a part of that, I think there's a growth (opportunity) there. It's a show that, despite being moved around into like 17 time periods and really never being given the marketing support, has really performed unbelievably well on NBC." He went on to say that they hope "it won't be a one-season situation."

Other than that, most of the conversation revolved around the network's returning shows, which makes sense, since the network is only debuting a few new shows (none of which had pilots that the network thought were suitable for preview) this fall.

Wondering what the deal is with new fall TV show Life on Mars? Now, you can ask two of its stars, Jason O'Mara and Michael Imperioli, yourself!

AOL TV's new video interview series, Outside the Box, takes questions submitted by fans and poses them to cast members of the hottest shows. We're already gathering questions for Scrubs, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.

If you don't know much about the series, O'Mara plays a modern-day police detective who suddenly finds himself transported back in time to 1973. There's been a lot of buzz and gossip surrounding around this show, which is a remake of a popular British hit.

If you've got questions for O'Mara and Imperioli, submit them in the comments below by Tuesday, July 15. Be sure to include your first name and city/state. We'll take the best entries and ask some of them in the interview. Good luck!

Former Sopranos mobster Michael Imperioli is returning to television as a police detective. The actor has been cast in ABC's Life on Mars, an American adaptation of the BBC series. Imperioli landed the role of Detective Ray Carling, one of the lead character's colleagues. Ray is described as "a rough, tough sexist who has never heard of the phrase 'politically correct'."

This cast addition is the latest of many changes made to the drama. David E. Kelley is out as the Life on Mars showrunner, and October Road's Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg have replaced him. Producers also decided to move the show's production and fictional setting from Los Angeles to New York City.

I don't know about you, but I was kind of ticked off that General Hospital decided that 45 years on the air wasn't a good enough reason for a special episode. They had a cake -- good for them -- but generally speaking, the media celebrated the GH anniversary more than the show did. Well, ABC and One Life to Live are doing just the opposite for four decades of broadcasting. One Life to Live will celebrate its 40th anniversary -- officially July 15th -- with three special, out of this world storylines. It all starts on July 21. How out of this world? Well, it will be celestial.

Headwriter Ron Carlivati told TV Guide that his plans, which are extensive, include sending Viki back to Heaven. Longtime fans will recall that in 1987, Viki "died" and went to Heaven, which was inspired by Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and looked very sci-fi.

I was watching a Red Sox game last week (yes, stay with me here, this really does have something to do with Life on Mars) and they had Lenny Clarke in the booth as a guest. He shows up from time to time, usually with Denis Leary (they're both from Boston) and riff on everything for an inning or two. The two announcers asked Clarke what he was working on and he mentioned that he was in the pilot for the ABC remake of the British series but didn't know if he was going to be in the rest of the series. He didn't really know what was happening with the show.

He's not the only one.

It looks like someone took the effort to create a Flash player with embedded videos of many of the upcoming new fall shows. Included are clips from Dollhouse, Fringe, Life on Mars, The Eleventh Hour, Scrubs, The Cleveland Show, The Goode Family (pictured right) as well as several others. I only had a chance to look at some of them. The previews aren't of all the new shows available in the fall (NBC only has one preview), but it's still quite a few. Which ones are missing?

Embedded videos after the jump

ABC released its 2008-09 prime-time schedule this morning during a press conference call conducted by Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. I listened in and got the rundown:

Returning: Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Grey's Anatomy, Lost (Midseason), Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, According to Jim (Midseason), Samantha Who?, America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor (Midseason), Dancing With The Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, Wife Swap, Saturday Night College Football, Primetime: What Would You Do?

Out: October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, Men in Trees, Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give

New: Life on Mars, The Goode Family (Midseason), Scrubs (Midseason), Opportunity Knocks, Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project (Midseason)

Last week, it was Men in Trees. Now the end has officially come for another ABC drama series. ABC has confirmed that October Road is over. The long and winding road is no more, so to speak. ABC has no room in the fall lineup, apparently, and a plan to move October Road and Men in Trees to Lifetime never panned out. So all the die-hard fans who've been writing the network and crafting petitions can give it up. No amount of peanuts or blood drives -- oh, wait, that was Jericho and Moonlight. The Roadies had a different tack; buy the DVD, donate it to a library to get more people watching and writing to ABC. Despite the sincere efforts, the network still chose to end the road and move on to a newer, different show.

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.

I don't know if this is good news or bad... David E. Kelley may be checking out of Life on Mars, the ABC pilot based on the hit BBC crime/time travel drama. According to Variety, the prolific Mr. Kelley -- Boston Legal, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally MacBeal, The Practice, Chicago Hope, etc. -- is unhappy with the financial arrangements and if things aren't worked out, he's going to move on.

Life on Mars was a terrific show. The UK version has played on BBC America, starring John Simm and Philip Glenister. Following the British model, the series lasted just two years -- 16 episodes total. In the ABC pilot, which Thomas Schlamme directed, Jason O'Mara (Men in Trees) is playing Simm's role, Sam; Colm Meaney (Star Trek: The Next Generation) is Gene. Kelley wrote the American variation on the story of Sam Tyler, a police detective in present day who awakens from a car crash to find he's living in 1973. Has he really gone back in time or is it all in his head?

Autumn may not look the same way it usually does on ABC in 2008. The network is seriously considering opening the new season sans new drama series. There will still be returning shows, including the dramas from 2007 which have been deemed successes by the ABC brass, including Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money -- but no new pilots.

• At 8, NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, then a new Biggest Loser.
• Cartoon Network has Billy & Mandy Save Christmas at 8.
• BBC America has the two-hour season premiere of Life on Mars at 8.
• At 8:30, ABC has Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too.
• At 9, CBS has two new episodes of Cane.
• Lifetime has the movie All She Wants For Christmas at 9.
• Hallmark has the movie Meet The Santas at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new Boston Legal.
• There's a new Nip/Tuck on FX at 10.
• Discovery has a new Everest: Beyond the Limit at 10.
• ABC Family has The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Well, if he couldn't be a noir-ish private eye maybe he'll have better luck as a confused, time-traveling cop.

Irish actor Jason O'Mara has been cast in the lead role in the American remake of the British series Life On Mars. The show is being produced by David E. Kelley (L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, etc). The show will start production in mid August and could be ready as a midseason replacement on ABC.

(S01E01) Showtime has decided to air the English drama Meadowlands starring David Morrissey (Viva Blackpool) as the head of a family who must enter the witness relocation program. Now that description may seem simple and if this were an American drama on network TV, that's all it would be.

The show opens with the newly renamed Brogan family wearing blindfolds while being delivered to their new home in the community known as Meadowlands. As the show unfolds the meet their new neighbor, the local handyman, the town cop as well as a host of other interesting characters.