TVSquad

While Kevin Costner is executive producing a new A&E Western mini-series event, he's not as sure if he'll be directing any of it or even if he'll be appearing in it. It all depends on the script. So he's not sure if it'll be good enough to bother with beyond his current EP duties?

Come on, Kevin. This is A&E. Remember their first, and only so far, mini-series The Andromeda Strain? Yeah, I actually watched it and it was horrible! Which means this one simply has to be better. Right? It can't be much worse. Truly. It can't.

I don't know how they keep doing it; AMC that is. Not only have they brought us stellar series (Mad Men) after stellar series (Breaking Bad), but now they've managed to snag two big-time Hollywood names to join the cast of their remake of one of the smartest shows in television history. What started as rumor, that even we at TV Squad had a hard time believing, is now fact. Both Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellan have been cast in AMC's remake of The Prisoner. Caviezel is set to fill Patrick McGoohan's shoes as the titular "Number Six," while McKellan will step into the role of "Number Two."

AMC's The Prisoner is scheduled to be a six-part mini-series. It hasn't been made clear if those six parts are one hour, two or a combination of both, but either way the original wrapped up in 17 so there's no reason to think we can't get a satisfying tale in six installments. With casting of the two principals announced, it's actually safe to say now that this thing might really get made. AMC is cruising right along with their original programming, and after forty years, I think we're due a re-imagining of this classic series. And unlike the disastrous The Andromeda Strain at A&E, I have faith that AMC won't let me down ... don't let me down, AMC!

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

Last contest's winner: apronk

"Clay Aiken is breeding!!!"

This week, a scene from the series premiere of CBS's Swingtown ...

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

Last contest's winner: Benjh

This week, a scene from A&E's Andromeda Strain ...

Why didn't you warn me? I started this fun little adventure with the novel The Andromeda Strain back in college and enjoyed the book tremendously. If for nothing else, it was funny how much time and attention Michael Crichton spent on the "modern" technology and amazing computational advances. Of course, I read the book in the mid-'90s and he wrote it in the late '60s. It's even more hilariously dated now. You mean, 200 people can work at the same time on this mainframe computer? That's astounding!

• At 7, A&E has The Andromeda Strain (repeat of first part and then the conclusion).
• At 8, FOX has the season premiere of The Moment of Truth, then a new Hell's Kitchen.
• ABC has two new episodes of According To Jim at 8.
• NBC has a new Most Outrageous Moments at 8.
• At 9, PBS has anew Frontline.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
• Bravo has a new Real Housewives of New York City (with lost footage), followed by a new Work Out.
• At 10, CBS has the special 48 Hours: Polygamy, A World Apart.
• MTV has a new A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila at 10.
• Also at 10: Sci-Fi has a new ECW.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has Vacation Swap, followed by a new episode of The Bachelorette.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, then a new Dateline.
• ABC Family has a new Greek at 8, then a new Wildfire.
• Also at 8: TV Land has an Andy Griffith Show marathon.
• At 8:30, ESPN has the NBA Playoffs.
• At 9, Larry King Live has all the finalists from American Idol.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• A&E has the premiere of The Andromeda Strain at 9.
• At 10, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• E! has the premiere of Denise Richards: It's Complicated, then the premiere of Living Lohan.
• Also at 10: MTV has two new episodes of The Paper.

Check your local TV listings for more.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Doc Jensen has some new theories concerning Lost over at Entertainment Weekly.
• Time's James Poniewozik weights in on Recount and The Andromeda Strain (he liked one and hated the other).
• Oh, for Pete's sake, it was a person's voice!
• Ausiello over at TV Guide has some info about Supernatural.
• Here's the latest on that possible strike (yes, another one).
• Will Al Franken's past come back to haunt him in his Senate race?
• And now, the music of Katie Couric.

Back in May I mentioned that A&E was developing Michael Crichton's book The Andromeda Strain into a miniseries. The network recently announced the cast, which includes Benjamin Bratt, Rick Schroder, Eric McCormack, Viola Davis, Christa Miller, Andre Braugher, Daniel Dae Kim, and Ted Whittall.

The Andromeda Strain, which was also made into a feature film in 1971, tells the story of a deadly plague brought back to Earth from space on a satellite that crashes in Utah. The virus kills off almost everyone in a small town except for an old man and an infant. Scientists are forced to race against time to stop the plague from spreading.

This summer, filmmaking brothers Tony and Ridley Scott will begin production on a miniseries version of Michael Crichton's novel The Andromeda Strain for A&E. The brothers will executive produce the miniseries, which is being directed by Mikael Solomon (whose TV credits include Rome and Nightmares and Dreamscapes) and written by Robert Schenkkan (The Quiet American).

Crichton's novel was also made into a motion picture in 1971.

The miniseries could run as long as six hours. In addition, A&E has plans for more original series to air in 2008, including The Cleaner, about an addict who helps others kick their habit; Homestead, a cop drama; The Beast, an FBI drama; Takedown, a drama about U.S. Marshals; and Under, about a mob informant turned NY City cop.