TVSquad

You miss Veronica Mars. We all do. But maybe you miss it just a little more than I do. Maybe your eyes well up with tears whenever you see Jason Dohring on a promo for Moonlight because you know he's not a vampire. He's Logan Echolls, dammit!

If that is you, there are kindred spirits out there, my friend. Spirits who miss the brilliant-but-canceled series so much that they're willing to cram onto a cruise ship together and reminisce about Neptune and its inhabitants. From the people who created the Browncoat Cruise 2007, this summer's offering is Cruise to Mars 2008. Yes, it's a real thing!

(S01E14) "You don't like banana splits? What are you some kind of a commie?" - Jerry

You know if any other show had written themselves into a corner the way Reaper did, they'd have a problem. Last episode they escalated Sam & Andi's relationship but, of course, by doing so, they revealed too much of Sam's secret to Andi. When that kind of thing happens on a show, it's usually the beginning of the end. We all know that if Andi ever joins Sam's band of demon hunters, the show will suffer. So what's the answer? Does he confess everything? Does she sneak around and try to catch Sam in the act? Does Andi come down with that disease we only see on TV, Convenient Amnesia? Luckily, this kind of thing isn't a problem for Reaper. All they have to do is slip a guy some cash, tell her a lie and the problem is solved. I love watching a show whose main characters have lower moral standards than my own.

Every time I see an image of Rob Thomas I can't help but think, "man, that is one huge neck." Sorry, just had to get that out of the way.

It turns out that the aforementioned tight-tie-wearing director/producer/writer has decided to pass on heading the Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff series to concentrate more on a couple of other projects, one of which we've already mentioned before: Cupid and Good Behavior. Thomas will still be involved with the spinoff show, but only as an executive producer. In fact, the script for the series is being totally rewritten by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah from What About Brian (Update: They also wrote for Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared). In a nutshell, fans of Rob Thomas won't likely be feeling the Rob Thomas-ness in this series.

This isn't the first time in recent history that Thomas has stepped down from a new series. The same thing happened with Miss Guided last year, though it's unclear if that show has suffered at all from his departure.

[via PopCandy]

Will it be the magic again? You've gotta hope so... According to Watch with Kristin on E!online, there's a good chance that the Veronica Mars team of Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas will be working together again.

In a recent chat with Kristin, Kristen (that's Ms. Bell -- check the spelling) has been talking with Rob about the possibility of another series. It would be great if they were talking about bringing Veronica back, but that's apparently not meant to be. Only fans like us, we see that that is what we'd want most of all, but it ain't happening.

Is that a throne Rob Thomas is sitting on? Seems like he's quickly becoming King of TV! The prolific scribe is quite literally sitting in the catbird seat. ABC has just greenlit another Rob Thomas pilot, that's his third -- but who's counting? It follows ABC's resurrection of Cupid and a Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff for the CW. The latest Rob Thomas opus is an import based on the New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune.

Outrageous Fortune is a one-hour dramedy is about a family of criminals. When the father is jailed for four years, the matriarch declares that it's time for the family to go straight. Thomas has written the pilot and will act as executive producer, along with John Barnett, Michael Larkin, Michael Goldstein, Bruce Cervi and John Lansing.

Rob Thomas, the creator of Veronica Mars, just got the go-ahead to make a pilot for ABC. His new show is called Cupid, about a guy who believes he's a god sent by Zeus to unite 100 couples.

As many of you probably know, Cupid is actually a throw-back for Thomas-- it's the resurrection of the same series of the same name that lasted 15 episodes on ABC in 1998. The original version starred Jeremy Piven as Cupid (Piven won't be returning to the show). E! network lists the short-lived series as #4 on the list of Top Ten Shows Canceled Before Their Time.

Schools in! For 11 seasons, Beverly Hills 90210, was a ratings hit and trend-setting youth soap opera for Fox. Now, a mere eight years later, the CW will spin-off Beverly Hills 90210, coming up with a contemporary version of the well-loved, if corny, teen drama.

The original, executive produced by the late Aaron Spelling, and created by Darren Star (Cashmere Mafia). The new CW version is not connected to Star. Rob Thomas, who created Veronica Mars, has been approached to take on the project.

When one of our favorite TV shows goes off the air, it can be devastating. However, many times, the cancellation is the birth of a spinoff. Sometimes it can be a great thing (Frasier) and sometimes not so much (AfterM*A*S*H). Here are some this month's spinoff ideas that I would love to see.

McCormack & Van Lowe: At Your Service
When Keith Mars becomes sheriff of Neptune and his daughter Veronica joins the FBI, Vinnie Van Lowe emerges as the county's number one private detective. His new caseload is so overwhelming and his moral compass is so out of whack that he's forced to employ attorney Cliff McCormack on a permanent basis. Together with the help of their excitable intern (Alia Shawkat), they bring their distinctive style of crime-solving to the citizens of Neptune.

... Five canceled shows.

Isn't it really sad when a TV show is canceled? It's like a family pet has died. You're not going to see these characters anymore, you're not going to find out what happened to them, and now you have to learn to like a whole new show and a new set of characters. And if the show replaced your favorite canceled show, you probably won't even watch. I still remember when Walker, Texas Ranger replaced Raven on CBS in the early 90s. I never forgave Chuck Norris for doing that and couldn't even watch his show, even though both shows were about heroes who kicked people with their feet.

2007 brought many cancellations to fans. Many cancellations we saw coming, many we didn't care about at all, and some truly hurt us. After the jump are the top five cancellations of the year. The ones that hit us the most and we talked about the most. Air your cancellation grievance in the comments below and at your Festivus party.

... Six welcome returns.

Every fall season I get stoked about all the new shows, with cool new premises ("A guy travels through time trying to make right what once went wrong!"-- Journeyman not Quantum Leap), and all the big changes in store for existing shows. But it's equally exciting to see which beloved actors will be returning to television. Brad Garrett coming back to television in 'Til Death last year? Cool! Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer both coming back to television ... together? That's gotta be awesome, right? Jerry O'Connell on Carpoolers ... well ... ? I like the guy, but I'm not scheduling a 'Welcome Back' shindig for him.

Half the fun of a new television season is the return of great actors and actresses to the small screen. And while I could have easily done 10 or even 20 of these, I've narrowed it down to the six talents who were most welcome back in my house on a weekly basis this past year. I've even been so bold as to rank them. Feel free to agree, disagree and present your own lists in the comments.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Aquaman - The Complete Collection
• The Christmas Card (TV movie)
• The Company - Mini-series
• I Love Lucy - Complete Series
• Jupiter Moon - Set 1
• The L Word - Season 4
• Mind of Mencia - Season 3 Uncensored
• Monarch of the Glen - Season 7 and The Complete Collection
• NCIS - Season 4
• Route 66 - Season 1, Vol. 1
• The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 2
• Tales From The Crypt - Season 7
• Veronica Mars - Season 3
• Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea - Season 3, Vol. 2
• They Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Vol. 1

I could be wrong here, but I think most fans of Veronica Mars felt that season three was clearly its weakest. For me, in fact, the third season was so disappointing that I wasn't going to even bother completing my DVD collection for the series.

Now that I've gotten to take an early look at the Veronica Mars season three DVD set, I'm going to say that if you were also thinking of not grabbing this set, you may want to reconsider.

Cordelia Chase has always been one of my favorite characters on Buffy and Angel; she was a great comedic relief. Since the end of Angel, I've tried to catch all of her TV guest appearances because I knew I was always in for a fun ride.

I watched her play a seer on Charmed, an opinionated young woman getting involved with an older man on Miss Match, a trophy wife and schemer on Veronica Mars, and, this week, play a member of the national chapter of Zeta Beta on Greek.

Charisma's roles have been entertaining but will Charisma Carpenter, the woman, be as fun to watch? We may find out soon as the word on the street is that she will be an apprentice on the celebrity version of NBC's The Apprentice.

It's casting drama times two! Heroes casting news is the Paris Hilton of TV news, you just can't go three days without hearing about it. If you haven't heard about it, you must not come to this website often.

Just last week, we heard that our favorite superpower drama was adding a little old school flair with some new school brattitude. Forgive me for saying brattitude.

It seems that Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame, who stirred up her own drama when rumors said she was going to join Lost and again when she decided against it, will be the newest edition addition to the Heroes cast -- which has now been recognized as its own country.

Potential spoilers after the jump.

Kristen Bell, formerly of Veronica Mars, was reportedly asked to join the cast of Lost next season as a new, recurring character (one of The Others!). But, Bell has apparently turned down the opportunity to live and work in Hawaii in favor of living and working on Broadway in New York City.

According to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, Bell will take over the lead role in the Broadway version of Legally Blonde in February. He's putting two-and-two together to come to this conclusion, but it seems pretty logical. She has wanted to do Broadway in the past, but her Veronica Mars schedule would never accommodate it.

This seems like an...interesting...career choice. A role on Lost would boost her visibility with mainstream viewers, while a role on Broadway will only make her visible to those who are into that sort of thing. But, if Broadway's your dream, go for it!