TVSquad

When I first started exploring this project, there were a few shows that I knew were going to be important to hit. This is the first of those. Firefly was Joss Whedon's sci-fi western series. The show mustered disappointing ratings in its short eleven-episode run on FOX.

Since then it's gone on to near mythic cult status. There was such an outcry of support from its loyalists, the Browncoats, over its cancellation that the producers made a feature film sequel. That movie, Serenity, answered a lot of questions about the future fate of the cast. Unfortunately, like the television series, it couldn't find quite enough people to show up and tune in to warrant a sequel. Nevertheless, the few morsels of Firefly we did get are enough to prove that this is one of the most innovative and enjoyable series ever to hit the airwaves.

(S06E01) "Can we drive with the airbags deployed?" - Drama

The boys are back, and as I mentioned in my Early Look review last week, everything we knew about Entourage finally seems to be evolving. Some of it's logical and some of it's forced so that the story progresses, but all of it makes sense. Entourage was due for an overhaul if you think about it, and what could be more perfect than seeing what life is like for the guys when they aren't constantly worrying about Vince's career?

You think Turtle would have ever had time to smoke a J in a hot tub with Jamie-Lynn Sigler if Scorsese hadn't called Vince? I don't think so.

Like many shows before it, Entourage has officially reached a point where the title of the program doesn't exactly make total sense anymore. Think season two of Prison Break after they had, you know... broken out of prison. In this case, we've spent five seasons watching boys become men, and much like the tagline for Entourage's sixth season plainly spells out, "life changes, friends don't." What exactly happens when Vince no longer has an entourage?

The show gets a helluva lot more interesting is what happens.

Tim Minear's next project will be at ABC. The network just won a lengthy bidding war with Fox for Minear's new show, Miracle Man. Minear created it with Emmy winning producer Todd Holland, who also created Wonderfalls with Minear. Miracle Man "centers on a disgraced former televangelist, a man of no faith, who finds that God is using him to perform real miracles and change lives, starting with his own", according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A few months ago I wrote an article about how sad it is that FOX no longer gives its new shows a decent chance to find an audience. Shows like Vanished and Drive barely get started before the network decides to pull the plug. I still feel that FOX is too quick on the trigger, however in the case of their latest fatality, Anchorwoman, they did the right thing.

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.

Executive producers Tim Minear and Craig Silverstein were kind enough to spill the beans on what would have happened on Drive if FOX hadn't canceled the series.

Many fans were left wondering as only four of the six produced episodes aired earlier this year. FOX had planned on airing the two remaining episodes this summer but decided against it earlier this week.

Sorry, Drive fans. It doesn't look good. After promising that it would air the final two episodes of Drive on July 4th, Fox rescheduled them for this Friday, July 13th.

Well, guess what?

They're off the schedule... again. I just spoke to a Fox spokesperson who confirms that they've been pulled (in favor of Bones and Standoff) and he doesn't have any explanation for the change. He also told me that the final two episodes of Drive have not been rescheduled at this point and he doesn't know if they ever will be.

At this point, they should at least put the final two episodes online.

On the heels of yesterday's news that Dana Delany may soon become a Desperate Housewife, is news that Nathan Fillion is also in talks to join the show. The Hollywood Reporter says that Fillion would play Delany's much younger husband. They'd be the new couple on the block at Wisteria Lane and would, no doubt, have some sort of mysterious past and secrets that they're hiding from the neighbors.

Rounding up the Fillion/Delany family is Lyndsy Fonseca, who may play the couple's daughter. Fonseca is currently the unnamed "daughter" that we occasionally see at the beginning of How I Met Your Mother.

It'll be interesting to see whether Fillion's addition to the show brings some Browncoats over to ABC on Sunday nights (probably not this Browncoat). Fillion had a lot of support from his fans when Drive launched this spring, but it was swiftly canceled by Fox.

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]

Patrick Dempsey will be the celebrity driver for the pace car during today's Indianapolis 500 race. And he's being very gracious about the opportunity. It really is a dream come true for him.

Fans of Dempsey probably already know that he's a racing fanatic and co-owns an Indy racing team. In this interview for Auto Racing Daily, he's dropping names left and right of legendary Indy drivers and seems to be genuinely in awe of the entire event. Dempsey's sure to make it clear that he was a race fan and one of the racing guys long before he ever was 'McDreamy' on Grey's Anatomy. Hopefully there will be a camera inside the pace car so we can see him having a ball.

The Indianapolis 500 race starts at 1 pm on ABC.

I was REALLY looking forward to seeing how Drive turned out. It was just what I seemed to be craving in my weekly TV diet: another bout of addiction to serialized drama and paranormal wonderment. Sadly, FOX gave it the old kick in the proverbial shorts, and I find myself sadly wanting more. You have to wonder, after all the work that goes into a series like that, do the networks plan on giving it a snowball's chance in hell, and only the super lucky survive?

I will never forget being in high school and hearing the news that a new network would soon be premiering. It was only going to be on a couple nights a week, but instead of airing reruns and crappy local shows, it would air all new programs; it was unprecedented.

That network was called FOX, and while many of the programs were of no interest to me, I was really impressed at how they followed through with their promises. Specifically, cutting edge programming and big budgets. I watched Al & Peg Bundy say things that my parents didn't want me to hear. I watched George C. Scott in the only sitcom he ever starred in. Most importantly, I was witness to the phenomenon that became The Simpsons.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by a new episode of The Bachelor.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, then a new Thank God You're Here.
• FOX has a new Drive at 8, then a new 24.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• Also at 8: American Life has Harry O, followed by 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye.
• At 8:30, CBS has a new Old Christine, then new episodes of Two and a Half Men, King of Queens, and CSI: Miami.
• At 9, PBS has a new America At A Crossroads.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new ep of The Riches.
• Discovery has a new Stunt Junkies at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E01/S01E02) To be honest, I was sold on this one long before we finally got a look at what the Drive team has been working on all this time. I count myself as a Tim Minear fan, so his involvement was enough to get me interested. Add in a cast including Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Melanie Lynskey (Two And A Half Men), Kevin Alejandro (Sleeper Cell), Kristin Lehman (Tilt), Dylan Baker (The Book Of Daniel), and Taryn Manning (Hustle & Flow), and you really have something.