TVSquad

I am about to write something that I normally don't do when it comes to the way networks program their primetime schedules. It's something that will shake your foundations, rock the world, turn Republicans into Democrats (and vice-versa) and make Amy Winehouse finally get sober. Ready? ABC is being smart with its programming schedule.

There, it's done. Now to sit back and wait for the accolades.

Seriously, after years of relying on only a handful of shows to carry the schedule throughout the year, ABC has been filling out their schedules with a number of backup shows to fill those gaps that always appear when a fall premiere tanks. Granted, some of these mid-season replacements also tank, but at least the network is letting them try. Because of that we have been lucky to enjoy shows like Samantha Who? and Eli Stone. This time around, ABC has five new series - all scripted - that will be premiering during the 2008-09 season. You'll find a brief explanation of each after the jump.

Now that we've all had a chance to take in and digest the saga of Dr. Horrible, one of the big questions is "Did it work?" It certainly seemed to work for the viewers. In our poll, an astounding 74.2% of you gave it 5 out of 5. Another 22.5% went with 4 out of 5. The bigger question though, is did it work out for everybody on the money end? And I ask that rather selfishly. Sure, I'd like to see Whedon, Fillion, Harris, Day, and the whole crew make a few bucks. But really, I'm more concerned with getting to see more of the story. If the numbers worked out for all involved, the chances of that happening increase greatly.

Jeffrey McManus has made some educated guesses at just how the numbers shake out for those involved. The short version of McManus' analysis: At a million iTunes downloads he has the principle actors bringing in something in the neighborhood of $100,000 with Whedon coming in at around $4 million $2.6 million. I'm not sure how feasible one million iTunes downloads on iTunes is, but I do know that at the moment Dr. Horrible counts for 3 of the top 4 episodes and the top season on the U.S. lists. Add in the international markets and it's certainly not an outlandish goal.

If you are like me, you stayed up late Friday night just to catch Act 3 of Doctor Horrible, even though you needed to be up at 5AM to watch F1 in Germany. Chances are that there are more of you that stayed up late and couldn't give two shakes about a car race at Hockenheim, but either way, we've come to the end of Joss Whedon's great experiment. It seemed like a good idea to get a post up and see what everybody thought. A lot of it was what I expected based simply on the players involved. It stood to reason that there would be some good yucks, a bit of a twist, and since this is Joss Whedon, even...

The wait is over. Joss Whedon's new project, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, made it's debut overnight with "Act One" going live on the internet. Acts Two and Three will follow on this Thursday and Saturday.

Unfortunately, the premiere was not without its issues. Almost as soon as the video became available, the familiar complaints of U.S. only video started rolling in. To their credit, team Dr. Horrible quickly updated their twitter account to let everyone know they were working on international viewing.

Assuming the geography issues get ironed out, it was a great start to the series. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) is very funny as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Fillion's Captain Hammer is the perfect foil. As good as Harris is, Fillion steals his thunder a little bit when he makes his grand entrance. Felicia Day is also terrific as Penny, and the three of them all do a nice job with what are very entertaining songs.

This is a slam dunk for anyone that counts themselves a Whedon fan. For those of you that are not among his legions, it's still worth a look. It's a little bit crazy, but the fun kind of crazy. The episodes are also available from iTunes.

OK, technically this first bit is more movie news than TV news, but it does involve two pretty big TV names, so go with me here. Joss Whedon is reuniting with Drew Goddard for a new movie called Cabin In The Woods. Buffy fans will recognize Goddard as one of the writers from Buffy and Angel. He followed that up with stints on Alias and Lost. The pair wrote the new script together and it will mark the directorial debut of Goddard. Whedon is set to produce.

As is so often the case, there are not a lot of details about the script. When asked, Goddard said, "It's got a harder and darker edge, but it's also got classic Whedon qualities." He went on to add, "There's a reason the title is so straightforward. It's its own sub-genre, the cabin in the woods, and this is sort of our take on it." The cabin in the woods is its own sub genre and, for me, calls to mind Eliza Dushku in Wrong Turn. A handy recollection, because they also talked a little TV. More on that, after the jump.

Technically it is Buffy/Angel week, but all things Whedon have a way of just melding together into one big stew. So it's a fortuitous bit of timing that a trailer for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was released this week. For those still unaware of just what Dr. Horrible is, I think it was summed up best by Nathan Fillion in a recent interview. It's about a super-villain (Neil Patrick Harris) who falls in love with a girl (Felicia Day), and the super-hero (Nathan Fillion) who blows it for him. The super-hero is kind of a dick. And... it's a musical. I think it could be very much more than that. More on that, and the new trailer, after the jump.

(S04E10) "He can build homes and decorate them. Sometimes God gives with both hands." - Lee McDermott

So Ida didn't survive the twister. Was anyone really surprised? If everyone in the basement had survived it would've strained credibility a little too much. However, seeing the Scavo clan crawl out of the rubble was really cool. It was the kind of moment that hearkened back to the first season and reminded my why I started watching Desperate Housewives in the first place.

Another bright spot in this episode was Kathryn Joosten. Actresses like her are the backbone of a decent drama. I wouldn't be surprised if she eventually wins an Emmy for DH like she did for The West Wing.