TVSquad

On KryptonSite, the producers of Smallville have written an open letter to all the fans of their show. This letter is about the potential upcoming spin-off or complementary series of Smallville called The Graysons, about the life of Dick Grayson and family before he put on the tights and became Batman's partner.

What disturbs me most about this letter is the fact that they mention a season nine of Smallville. Can't they let this series die already? They lost Lana and Lex. Clark is currently working with Lois Lane at the Daily Planet (despite his lack of college education) and rather than a reference to the town he grew up in, Smallville is now a reference to Clark himself. What more can he do without actually becoming Superman?

I admit to a curiosity regarding what sort of storylines they could run in the show to accomplish this goal. I suppose that alone would keep me watching, even though I believe it should end this season.

The CW has an idea for a show that might one day be the replacement for Smallville, and the hit Batman movies are probably the reason why.

The network has given the green light for a new series called The Graysons, which will follow the drama and adventures of Dick Grayson and his family before he met Bruce Wayne and got involved in that weird relationship in the mansion and the cave. As we all remember from our comic book reading (and the lousy Batman & Robin flick - I'd still like my money back), Dick and his family were acrobats, and he became Bruce's ward after the rest of the family was killed. This show will show Dick before he donned the cape, much like Smallville shows Clark before he donned the cape. (Was his nickname really "D.J." in the comics?). It will be produced by some people behind both Smallville and Supernatural.

Of course, who the hell knows if the CW will even be around after this season?

I'd love to hear the context in which this quote was uttered in this MTV interview with Sarah Connor Chronicles star Brian Austin Green.

Green says that he would love to play The Riddler in the next Batman movie. He knows he's going to be busy "killing machines and people" on the FOX show, but he's still available to be in the movie, even though it might take a lot of time to prepare for such a role.

A lot of people online are giving Greene flak for being presumptuous that they would even consider him for such a pivotal role in a big screen blockbuster and also for sort of campaigning publicly for the role. But I wonder exactly why it was brought up in the first place. Did the interviewer ask him, "So Brian, how's it going?" Then he answered "It's going well. I'd love to play The Riddler in the next Batman movie." Or did the interviewer ask him about The Dark Knight and ask him if he'd like to be in the next movie and Green offered this answer and the question was left out of the interview?

First up, congratulations to The Daily Show for their multiple Emmy nominations! Hey, Jon Stewart even grabbed a nomination for hosting the Oscars. Well done, well done. Awards night will definitely be interesting, as The Colbert Report also got lots of Emmy attention, but in the very same categories as Jon and his team. I'm so torn between the two that I may have to avoid the issue all together and just blindly root for some other show.

Secondly, if you saw The Colbert Report last night and felt a little embarrassed for Stephen Colbert for interrupting Rush's performance of "Tom Sawyer"... It was a planned joke about the length of the band's songs. I cannot believe the number of people who went online to rip on Colbert for being clueless enough to do that. Come on, as if Colbert would screw up Rush's first American TV appearance in 33 years with something like that. I feel silly for even having to clear this up.

The legacy of Star Trek includes many memorable guest stars, Joan Collins as Edith Keeler in "City on the Edge of Forever," Ricardo Montalban as Khan on "Space Seed," Jane Wyatt as Spock's mother on "Journey to Babel." And those are just the ones that come first to mind.

But what about the less celebrated stars who appeared on ST? There were many who made a great impression because of the larger than life character they were given to play, and the ability to seize the spotlight.

Here are five of my favorite, and most memorable, though less celebrated, Trek stars...

• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• FOX has a new, two-hour So You Think You Can Dance at 8.
• PBS has a new Click & Clack's As The Wrench Turns at 8, then a new NovascienceNOW.
• At 9, NBC has a new Baby Borrowers, followed by a new Celebrity Circus.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9.
• History Channel has Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight at 9.
• There's a new Costas Now on HBO at 9.
• Bravo has a new Project Runway at 9, then a new Shear Genius.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Crime.
• TruTV has a new Black Gold at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• Also at 10: Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Okay, show of hands. How many of you are going to the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con to see all of the panels being held by the many television studios and shows? Uh-huh, a good amount. Now, how many of you are going to be perusing the booths and dealers down at the exhibit hall? Ahhh, not so fast!

If you're a fan of all things television and you think you'll have some time to see what else is going on during this, the world's largest science fiction and comic book convention, you may want to re-think your plans. This isn't your grandfather's, father's, or even older brother's comic book convention.

Starting last year this convention has become the biggest television event between the TCA's the week before (which we are covering, by the way) and the Emmy's at the end of the summer. This year is no exception as the days are packed with shows varying from Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica to Big Bang Theory and Bones.

Lorenzo Semple Jr., the pilot writer of the Batman television show of the 1960's (and writer of such movies as Three Days of the Condor), has written an article for Variety sharing his opinion of the Batman movie franchise. In it, he discusses the origins of the Batman TV show.

Semple has a very enjoyable, erudite writing style. Here's an example: "...I am often asked what I think of the string of Batman features which has followed. My answer disappoints. Truth is, I think only rarely about Warner's big-screen charades, for they are related to our antique effort in little beyond the eponymous title."

As one can guess, he doesn't really dig the new franchise. But Bob Kane, Batman's creator, didn't really understand Frank Miller's famous Batman comic book The Dark Knight Returns, so I guess it's a generational thing.

The article is also a good history lesson regarding how the business of television worked at the time. Recommended reading.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - Best of Ricky and Dave
• The Batman - Season 5
• Batman: The Animated Series - Gotham Knight and Gotham Knight Special Edition
• Cannon - Season 1, Vol. 1
• The Dog Whisperer - Season 3, Canine Makeovers, and Stories of Hope and Inspiration
• Fastlane - Complete Series
• I Dream of Jeannie - Season 5
• Jake and the Fatman - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Monk - Season 6
• Psych - Season 2\
• Shaggy and Scooby-Doo: Get A Clue - Vol. 2
• Soul Food - Season 4
• Spider-Man - The Hobgoblin
• Stargate: Atlantis - Season 4
• Teen Titans - Season 5
• The X-Files - Revelations

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• 30 Days - Season 2
• Batman: The Movie
• BraveStarr - Vol. 2
• The Care Bears - King of the Moon
• The Closer - Season 3
• Mad Men - Season 1
• Naruto - Vol. 25
• The Streets of San Francisco - Season 2, Vol. 1
• Til Death Do Us Part - Season 1
• Tori & Dean: Inn Love - Season 1
• Tyler Perry's House of Payne - Vol. 2: Episodes 21-40
• Walker, Texas Ranger - Season 5

ComicBookMovie.com has an interview up with Adam West, who played the lead character in the Batman television series of the 1960s. He is asked his opinion of the current Batman movie franchise. Not surprisingly, West finds it too grim and gritty for his taste.

"It was silly and funny. With the villains, especially, it was almost Shakespearian because of the bizarre costuming and makeup," West recalls. "In those days we didn't rely on special effects as much so everyone was challenged to use their imaginations," he goes on to reflect.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Even when I was a little kid, there were some things about the Super Friends (or Superfriends or Superamigos, or whatever they were calling it) that didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was because the confluence of superpowers all in one place just boggled my young mind. Maybe it was the mysterious change from Wendy and Marvin to the Wonder Twins that made me scratch my tiny noggin. Not sure. But those mysteries continue to fascinate me, even into adulthood. It's just that those mysteries are more sophisticated:

1. How did the Super Friends have time to hang out at the Hall of Justice? Every one of the SFs lived in different parts of the country: Batman and Robin were in Gotham City, for instance. So, did B&R commute from Gotham to Metropolis a few times per week? Did they use the Bat Plane or the Batmobile most of the time? Did they claim the mileage on their taxes?

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Welcome Back to TVSBTTHB (TV Squad Behind the True Hollywood Biography). For over a decade the team known as the Super Friends traveled the world, and the galaxy, to right the wrongs wrought by such villains as the Legion of Doom and Darkseid. But, by the mid-1980s, their services were no longer needed by the public, who watched many of their adventures on television. It was then that these heroes faded away.

So, what happened to them? Being the show that looks under every rock and inside every dumpster, TVSBTTHB was able to obtain information on all of the Super Friends: major, minor and 'what the hell are they doing on the team?'. Some of their stories are heartbreaking, others heartwarming, and the rest are just "meh." Yet, they are all fascinating and provide an extra layer of complexity to the already complicated lives of these superhumans.

Now, let's turn our attention to Superman, Batman, El Dorado, and the rest of the Super Friends.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

I've got to hand it to the writers of The Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show; for a mere ten minute episode, they really jam-packed 'Reflections in Crime' with a lot to make fun of ... er ... write about.

This 14th episode of The Legendary Super Powers Show is chock-full of funnies; some intentional, some ... not so much. The episode begins with Superman and Samurai playing chess, although it sounds like they are fighting, with such lines as, "Oh good move, that really hurts." We get a chuckle when we see that they are merely playing chess.

We are all so familiar with the main Super Friends, not to mention their powers. Superman, with his x-ray vision, super strength, and all that flying and stuff. Batman, pretty much powerless, but with a darned cool toolbelt and a car second only to Kitt. Wonder Woman, complete with magic lasso of truth and invisible jet.

These Super Friends ran the show over at the Hall of Justice, while the secondary heroes played second fiddle. But why? Honestly, I think some of the secondary heroes had the superior powers and they probably would have kicked the pants off of some of the main Super Friends. So why did they remain secondary characters? Let's take a closer look at their powers ....

Samurai
Besides being able to turn into a tornado and set himself on fire, Samurai can become invisible. Yes, that's cool and all, but if your enemy cannot see you, how can they defeat you? I'm pretty sure the Legion of Doom would be mighty confused by this, as would most of the super heroes.