TVSquad

Fox has announced that the final two episodes of Drive will be on the show's MySpace page starting on Monday, July 16th. The network had originally scheduled those episodes for air on July 4th, then bumped them to July 13th, then flat-out took them off the schedule, much to the frustration of the few surviving fans of Drive.

After you watch the last two episodes, which will likely not provide any sort of closure, check out this post from Isabelle detailing what the producers wanted to happen to the story if the series had lived on. Unfortunately, the producers don't say who would've won... maybe even they didn't know yet.

The last two episodes of FOX's Drive - remember that show? - were scheduled to air this Wednesday, July 4, but the network has changed its mind and has shifted them to Friday, July 13 instead. Ooooooo, Friday the 13th.

The first episode, "The Extra Mile," will air at 8pm, and then the series finale, appropriately titled "Rear View," will air immediately after at 9pm. The press release is actually calling this episode a "season finale," so there's no word on whether we'll get a real closure to the series or whether they'll be a lingering questions answered (on the DVD, no doubt). Bones will be pre-empted that night but will return the following week.

[via Pop Candy]

TV Guide is reporting that Fox has canceled Drive, the new action series starring Nathan Fillion and created by Tim Minear. Even though it's not confirmed, it's pretty obvious that this is due to dismal ratings. Drive had the old Prison Break slot, but was only getting a fraction of Prison Break's ratings. There are still two episodes left... hopefully Fox will put them up on the MySpace webpage where all the other episodes can be seen. In the meantime, repeats of House will run in that 8 pm time slot.

Sadly, this does not come as a surprise.

(S01E04) Brett and I are sharing reviewing duties of Drive and I have to tell you right away that I am not as in love with this show as Brett is. I adore Tim Minear and almost everything he does, but I'm not completely sold on this series. Too many of the characters bother me. I find blondie Ivy extremely annoying, and I find Ellie (the soldier's wife) and Violet (the so-called high school Junior) to be over-actors. The reason I'm holding on is simple: Alex Tully. I was intrigued following the last five minutes of last week's episode when we found out that Tully used to be a bad ass bank robber.

Take a bunch of good-looking people, put them in cars and have them race across the country, and what do you get? Drive, the latest series from Tim Minear, who's probably best known for his efforts on Buffy and the cult favorite Firefly. Right after Peter Ligouri gave his executive session, FOX decided to have the Drive cast out on stage for a Q&A. And when I mean the cast, I mean the entire cast; twelve actors, including Nathan Fillion, Dylan Baker and Melanie Lynskey. They were joined by Minear and his fellow executive producers, Ben Queen and Greg Yaitanes.

The most intersting thing about this series is that, while it shows ordinary citizens who are persuaded to participate in an illegal cross-country race for a $32 million prize, all the actors' in-car scenes will be shot in front of green screens. The challenge, according to Minear: "Could you make a show that takes place partially in moving vehicles that go across the country and not make it look bad?" He took a cue from War of the Worlds, which had in-car scenes where the audience saw the environment from all angles, inside and out. The effects experts who did that effect also worked on Drive.

There's more casting news on Fox's mid-season drama Drive from executive producers Tim Minear, Ben Queen and Greg Yaitanes. Just as Nathan Fillion replaced the pilot's lead Ivan Sergei, actors Kevin Alejandro and Mircea Monroe have been brought into take over the roles of Winston Salazar and Ellie Laird, both participants in the underground cross-country race at the center of the show. Laird's credits are fewer and further between, but you'll recognize Alejandro from his recent appearances on Sleeper Cell and Ugly Betty as Justin's father Santos.

Most television shows get a casting shake-up between the filming of the original pilot and, should the show get picked up, its eventual run. It happens for all kinds of reasons - networks don't like a certain actor in a role, scheduling conflicts, etc. In the case of Drive, characters are reportedly being taken in a "different direction."