TVSquad

(S01E16) It has come down to this. Number 6's captors have failed in every attempt to get him to tell them why he resigned. Since this is the second to last episode in the series, something has to give.

It doesn't take long to realize that this episode is going to be an interesting one because Leo McKern returns as Number 2. In my opinion, he is the best Number 2 because he just seems so comfortable in the role. As he returns, we can see that he is not happy to be there. It appears that he has been brought back to ascertain Number 6's reason for his resignation. Upon looking at Number 6's actions on the video screen, he asks angrily, "Why do you care?"

Desperation, the ABC movie based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, will be airing opposite the American Idol finals on FOX, and King is none too happy about it. He's been touting the series on his site for awhile, claiming it's one of the best adaptations of his work. Both shows will air tomorrow night. As a gentle warning to his fans, King wrote, "Those of you who don't [watch Desperation], and watch American Idol instead...well, just remember: I have strange powers. I have been watching you all for some time through your computers. (This is actually a power conferred upon me by the Bush Administration.) I watch you when you eat, I watch you when you sleep, and I watch you when you undress. In regard to this last comment, some of you need more stylish underwear, but never mind; the point is, I will know if you watch American Idol and if something bad happens to you, it will be your own fault."

(S01E07) Bill Henrickson wasn't kidding when he told his first wife Barb in bed at the end of last night's episode, "Everything is spinning out of control." Talk about an understatement!

His other two wives Nikki and Margene are indulging in behavior that Barb feels will draw unwanted scrutiny to their family unit. Margene seems to be increasingly desperate for attention and her very-forward neighbor Pam is showing up any time, anywhere. (Think Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond.)

Nikki is battling with her own issues, including her mounting credit card debt ($58,000 and counting) and her jealousy over Barb getting the most attention from Bill. It also appears that her religious beliefs are being called into question, whether from some very annoying missionaries (who would even allow these knuckleheads onto their property a second time?) or her own father, the cunning Roman Grant.

Speaking of Roman, his battle with Bill over his expected "tithing" from the Home Plus stores is getting nastier and could explode into violence before long. Roman's minions end up bulldozing the homes of Bill's family, and they end up in a fleabag motel. To top things off, if Bill's brother Joey ends up going off the deep end, his wife Wanda is going to hold Bill responsible.

Get ready to plan out your weeknights for the month of May because ABC finally announced the airdates for their stable of popular shows. The biggest news is that Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Boston Legal, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will all have two-hour season finales. Now that definitely counts as a real gift for the fans of these shows.

Also announced was the airdate for the much-anticipated movie based on Stephen King's novel Desperation. It will air on Thursday, May 18 at 8PM.

The dates for all the other finales:

• Grey's Anatomy (2 hours) - Monday, 5/15 at 9PM
• Boston Legal (2 hours) - Tuesday, 5/16 at 9PM
• Invasion - Wednesday, 5/17 at 10PM
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2 hours) - Sunday, 5/21 at 7PM
• Desperate Housewives (2 hours) - Sunday, 5/21 at 9PM
• Alias (2 hours) - Monday, 5/22 at 9PM
• Lost (2 hours) - Wednesday, 5/24 at 9PM

Also of note is the season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos which has it's finale on Friday, May 19 at 9PM. This episode will mark AFHV as the longest running entertainment program in ABC history.

[via Ain't It Cool News]

I have a love/hate relationship with Stephen King. I've read all of his early work, and all together I've probably consumed about ninety-five percent of his total output. I think The Onion's Tasha Robinson put it best when she described King as "a populist yarn-spinner of the highest order." The man writes big, weird stories and he does it well and without pretension. In a way, he's the U2 of literature, a creature often stigmatized for the crime of simply being popular. Sometimes I love him, and sometimes he lets me down. It's kind of a marriage in its own way, and even when he doesn't live up to my expectations, I still have a soft spot for the big galoot.

Translating his work to other mediums, however, is always a crap shoot at best. King's novels allow one to get inside his head, but without King guiding you along and lighting the way, what works on paper can just seem downright trite or silly on screen. With the exception of The Stand (and even that wasn't flawless) his made-for-TV movies tend to (what's the word kids use these days?) oh yeah, they "suck."

So will Desperation, the ABC movie based on his 1996 novel, be any good? When I mentioned it back in June King seemed really excited about the talent assembled for it, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and approach with rare optimism. It hits the airwaves on May 18 at 8 p.m.

Despite what the Internet Movie Database says, Desperation, the next TV adaptation of a Stephen King novel, will be produced as a feature for ABC, not a miniseries. King, on his official Web site, is singing the praises of director Mick Garris (who also helmed other King television adaptations such as The Stand and The Shining) and a cast which includes Ron Perlman, Henry Thomas, and Tom Skerritt. The question is: will it actually be as good as King says? Probably not, but both The Stand and The Shining were decent miniseries, especially when compared to such dreck as The Tommyknockers (where the cast seemed unaware of what movie they were in most of the time) and The Langoliers which ended with some awesome digital effects of creatures devouring time and space but was preceded by two hours of actors devouring my will to live.