TVSquad

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.

I'd like to say I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. ABC has canceled Men in Trees. Despite being one of the genuinely sweet and funny comedy/dramas on the network -- one that's more rooted in reality than flights of whimsy and pretentiousness -- Men in Trees has struggled to find a home on ABC. It's been shuttled about from day to day, time slot to time slot, in and out of the line up so that it became a gypsy. How were you as a viewer to invest in the romantic adventure that Marin Frist was on in the wilds of Alaska when you weren't sure when the dang show was going to air? A failed attempt to put the show on Lifetime back in March spelled doom for the show.

This is disheartening. ABC has been looking to Lifetime as a new home for Men in Trees and October Road. Both dramatic series have not as yet been picked up for next year, and now this report makes it clear they are both skating on thin ice. The powers that be at Lifetime were given copies of both shows to review and chose not to pick up either of them. They basically threw the ball back to ABC, forcing the network to decide the fate of these two shows.

There's going to be a new lady swinging down Wisteria Lane this spring. Entertainment Tonight reported that Justine Bateman has signed onto Desperate Housewives for a few episodes. The actress, who will forever be remembered for playing Alex P. Keaton -- Michael J. Fox's -- sister Mallory on Family Ties, will be playing "a hip artist living with Gabby and Carlos."

It was finally ABC's turn to unveil its winter schedule yesterday. There aren't many surprises in it except that Lost, as rumored, will now air on a new night and that Big Shots, who was benched last week, will get a fifth another chance. ABC's winter programming will also include the premieres of Cashmere Mafia, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, Eli Stone and Oprah's Big Give and the return of a few reality series, such as Supernanny and Wife Swap, to fill the void left when scripted series will have aired all their new episodes.

• At 8, ABC has a new Men In Trees, followed by new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
• FOX has a new, two-hour Next Great American Band.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, then new episodes of Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas.
• There's a new NOW on PBS at 8, followed by new episodes of Washington Week, Bill Moyers Journal, and Expose'.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• Lifetime has a new America's Psychic Challenge at 10.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Giada's Weekend Getaways.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson, Martin Short, Markos Moulitsas, and Alison Stewart.

Check your local TV listings for more.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll 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 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: CSI: Miami, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Men In Trees, Nip/Tuck, Prison Break, Smallville, The Office, and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll 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 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Bones, Brothers & Sisters, CSI: Miami, House, Lost, Men In Trees, Nip/Tuck, The 4400, and Weeds. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

(S01E03) I don't know that any of us can ever really understand the machinations that go into making the network schedule. After watching the first three episodes of Traveler though, I'm left scratching my head wondering just what it was that kept this one tucked away for so long. I'll give in where The Nine is concerned, because the pilot was very good. But how this one got passed over for Six Degrees, Men In Trees, and the collection of little sit-coms that couldn't is beyond me.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Is Kevin Federline insulting restaurant workers with his portrayal of a fast food employee in an upcoming Superbowl commercial or are we all getting a little too eager to be offended? I think, as usual, he's mostly just offending himself.
  
• Tyra Banks is extremely hurt that a website published swimsuit pictures of her under the headline "Tyra banks is Fat."
  
• Co-star couples: Anne Heche left her husband for Men in Trees co-star James Tupper. Why does this keep happening?
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this vodcast via our feed.

Winter X Games (9PM, ESPN)
Last year's Winter Olympics opened my eyes to an unfamiliar sport: snowboard cross. How awesome is a superfast downhill race where competitors jostle each other while facing jumps, banks and moguls? And you gotta love the wipeouts. Twenty-year-old snowboarding star Shaun White won't be competing in the cross, but he will take on the the superpipe and slopestyle.

Anne Heche sure loves 'em and leaves 'em. ET is reporting the Men in Trees star has left husband Coley Laffoon (with whom she has a son) for co-star James Tupper. Heche and Tupper's characters are romantically involved on the show.

But here's the problem with co-stars hooking up: they often eventually break up. And when they do, it sure causes havoc with TV storylines.

The TV Squad team has made their picks for the top quotes of the past couple of weeks from TV:

• "In 48 hours, you solved 21 bank jobs, a murder and a kidnapping?" -- Det. Tutuola ribbing Det. Elliot Stabler about a confession given by a man on his death bed on Law & Order: SVU.
• "Next time I need my gun cleaned, you're my girl... uhhh, what are you doing Saturday night?" -- Jason (David Arquette) to his doctor, Joanna (Lori Laughlin), on the premiere of In Case of Emergency.
• "You twat! Why are you dying?! Actually, I wish I was dying... I bet I'd be better at it than you are." -- Guy to Mac, upon hearing about Mac's fatal condition, on Green Wing.
• "So, if you want to solve a real mystery, go ahead and figure out who's taking my New York Times every Sunday. Or, better yet, how about why anybody on the planet actually thinks Dane Cook is funny!" -- Dr. Cox's response when his interns rave about House, on Scrubs.
• "My penis is already packed." -- Denny Crane (who else?) on Boston Legal.
• "We're back in Somalia, a country so poor, its charity ads run in Ethiopia." -- Jon Stewart, regarding the US troops' raid in Somalia, on The Daily Show.
• "That's a crapload of woo." -- Jerome reacting to a giant gift basket from a publisher wooing Marin, on Men in Trees.

Hello. My name is Keith and I'm a spoiler junkie. This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll 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 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

Slow week out there, and it probably will be until the new year. This week we have: Grey's Anatomy, Smallville, Veronica Mars, The Office, Scrubs, Prison Break, Men in Trees and CSI: Miami. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

(S01E08) This episode took a dramatic turn about halfway through. Initially, I was a little leery of the unusual turn of events but I think it worked because the writers eased us into the drama. The first half of the show alternated between goofy and dramatic and then it was just all drama up through the ending.