TVSquad

The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at asktvsquad@gmail.com.

This week, I answer questions about Flash Forward, Eureka, NCIS, The Philanthropist, and V.

(S02E04) - "If you come across something that don't make you miserable, enjoy it." - Chief Unser to Tara

Was I the only human being on the planet who was completely snowed by the BS claim that SAMCRO was headed out of town to do a charity blood drive for Charming? The thought of any shady dealings never crossed my mind for a second. I probably wouldn't even have any doubts if they devised a charity scheme that's more their speed like a "Ride Joust for Diabetes" or a "100-Yard Coke Line Snort for Macular Degeneration."

It's not a sign of my stupidity. Believe me, I've got much more convincing signs of that. For instance, I drive a Pontiac, a brand new Pontiac ... with a 30,000 mile warranty.

It's a sign that the characters are becoming more endearing and real and they play on your emotions more than if they were just flat images on a high definition television screen. They are flesh and blood and bone, and all the little synapses and thoughts that make them human beings are connecting. They have made the audience, or at least the audience that sits in my living room each week, part of their family.

• At 8, ABC has the ALMA Awards, followed by a new 20/20.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 8, then a new Jay Leno Show.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• Nickelodeon has the series premiere of The Troop (three episodes) starting at 8.
• At 8:30, Disney has a new Suite Life on Deck.
• Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force at 8:30.
• There's a new Smackdown! on MyNetwork TV at 8.
• At 9, USA has a new Monk, then a new Psych.
• Syfy has a new Eureka at 9.
• National Geographic Channel has a new Dog Whisperer at 9.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
• At 10, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• Food Network has a new Chefs vs. the City at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 8, FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• At 8:30, Disney has a new Suite Life on Deck.
• Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force at 8:30.
• At 9, USA has a new Monk, then a new Psych.
• Syfy has a new Eureka at 9.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
• At 10, ABC has a new 20/20.
• Food Network has a new Chefs vs. City at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher at 10.
• Current has a new SuperNews at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

I think we all can agree that musical episodes are a bit passé these days, but if there's one show that can still pull it off, it's gotta be Eureka.

Syfy's quirky series already has that whimsical tone and vivid color palette we're used to seeing in Hollywood musicals; so it comes as no shock that Eureka will feature a two-part musical episode next season.

Eureka's Deputy Lupo, Eric Cerra, dropped the news in a recent interview with Sci Wire about the show's upcoming fourth season. Cerra complimented the singing voices of co-stars Joe Morton, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Colin Ferguson, but admitted that she has some trouble carrying a tune herself. "... I don't sing. I can't, and I don't, so I'm going to have to take some singing lessons. I'm a little nervous," she said.

Cerra also confirmed what our own Jason Hughes reported last month, Eureka's fourth season will be its longest yet with 22 episodes. Season three concludes Friday, Sept. 18.

(S01E08) Warehouse 13 finally delivered an insane episode worthy of the show's strange and ridiculous premise. Steve Rubel's bewitched disco ball mated with Lewis Carroll's magic mirror to make Myka switch places with Carol's "Alice," who turned out to be a really creepy serial killer. Now this is the kind of stuff I wanna see.

If you ask Syfy's marketing folks, tonight's ep was all about the guest stars, Eureka's Erica Cerra and Niall Matter. They were serviceable as married grifters addicted to a cool little artifact, but they were pushed to the background just like Tricia Helfer and Joe Flanigan before them. "Duped" was really all about watching the Warehouse team do some much-needed bonding (and bringing the weirdness and the screwball comedy elements to the forefront, of course).

Call it Syfy's answer to The Love Boat.

Warehouse 13 has welcomed a number of geek-friendly guest stars during its first season, including Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer and former Stargate Alantis lead Joe Flanigan. Another BSG alum, Michal Hogan is set to play Agent Myka's father later this season.

The trend continues tonight with Eureka's Erica Cerra and Niall Matter guest starring as a pair of grifters looking for a big score in Las Vegas. Another Eureka vet, the awesome Joe Morton, will appear on the show in episode nine. (Minor spoilers ahead...)

• At 8, FOX has Pre-Season Football, the Titans vs. the Cowboys.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• TCM has Bonnie and Clyde at 8.
• At 8:10, FOX Movie Channel has The Seven Year Itch.
• At 9, USA has a new Monk, then a new Psych.
• There's a new Eureka on Syfy at 9.
• Animal Planet has a new Whale Wars at 9.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
• At 10, ABC has a new 20/20.
• Food Network has a new Chefs vs. The City at 10.
• Current has a new SuperNews at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher at 10, with Jay Leno.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

S.A.R.A.H., of course, stands for Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat. What, you didn't know that? Fans of Syfy's Eureka do, and in this video, stars Colin Ferguson and Neil Grayson give a tour of the house. Why can't Big Brother have a house like this? (A new episode of Eureka airs tonight at 9PM.)

• At 8, ABC has a new Surviving Suburbia, followed by a new Goode Family.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, the new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• Disney has a new Wizards of Waverly Place at 8.
• ESPN has more X Games coverage at 8.
• At 9, FOX has a new Mental.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 9.
• History Channel has a new Lock 'N Load with R. Lee Ermey at 9.
• Animal Planet has a new Whale Wars at 9.
• Also at 9: Syfy has a new Eureka.
• At 10, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• At 11, ESPN2 has coverage of the Los Angeles Open tennis tournament.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Despite a lengthy hiatus in the middle of its third season due to that pesky WGA Strike, and a shift to Friday nights, it was reported at Comic-Con that Syfy has renewed Eureka for a fourth season. And not one of those crappy 12- or 13-episode seasons we usually get on cable. This is a full 22 episodes, for which I say ... well, that would be a bit obvious, wouldn't it?

The good news is that the absence didn't hurt the show at all. It's just as compelling as it ever was. And fun. By fun, of course, I mean for us. Poor Sheriff Carter seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown half the time. Between negotiating a teenage daughter and the geniuses and their dangerously inventive concoctions, it's a wonder Eureka hasn't been blown off the map. Maybe for the series finale.

Even better, if you've yet to add it to your weekly list of stops, you can catch the latest four episodes of Eureka streaming on Hulu, along with tons of other fun clips.

• At 8, ABC has a new Surviving Suburbia, followed by a new Goode Family.
• NBC has a new episode of The Chopping Block at 8.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8, then a new Mental.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, Syfy has a new Eureka.
• BBC America has the conclusion of Torchwood: Children of Earth at 9.
• Travel Channel has two new episodes of Ghost Adventures starting at 9.
• National Geographic has a new Dog Whisperer at 9.
• Also at 9: Hallmark has the movie Mending Fences.
• At 10, ABC has a new 20/20.
• There's a new Real Time with Bill Maher at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Syfy's newest series, Warehouse 13, was supposed to satisfy my need for awesome summer sci-fi TV. Instead, it's one of the network's old staples, Eureka, that's filling the void left by the cancellation of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the end of Battlestar Galactica.

I know what you're thinking: Eureka has nothing in common with those shows. It's a lighthearted, inoffensive hour of nerd-friendly fluff, not a dark meditation about life before or after the apocalypse. But it's more than that. Eureka is a smart and charming blend of Northern Exposure, The Andy Griffith Show and Twin Peaks. (I guess there's a bit of The Twilight Zone in there too.) The show about a town of geniuses might be a little too "gee whiz" for some, but that's part of the appeal for me. It's refreshing to see a sci-fi show look on the bright side without sacrificing clever storytelling and engaging characters.

It's been a long time (almost a year at this point) since Sci Fi's surprise hit Eureka has been on the air. The show, a casualty of last year's writers strike and this year's recession woes, returns next Friday, July 10 at 9 PM with the final 10 episodes of season 3.

Series star Colin Ferguson and co-creator Jamie Paglia spoke to reporters on a media call and dished a little dirt on all the mid-season drama that's coming up. After the jump we'll get into Sheriff Carter finally having a "real honest love interest," the possibility of two well-liked characters making a re-appearance on the show, and, sadly, the one face that we won't be seeing (at all) around Eureka. Just a heads up to serious spoiler-phobes, there's an answer to at least one question you may want to avoid.