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.
(S01E01) Well, that was it. The most eagerly anticipated premiere of the season, if early buzz is any indicator. Is it the next Lost? Is it as good as everyone says it was? It can be. As much as I liked this pilot, though, I can't say that I know for sure how good the show is going to be based on it.
The opening sequence was every bit as epic and awe-inspiring as the opening moments of Lost. Whereas in Lost we had the aftermath of a cataclysmic plane crash on a deserted island, here we had the cataclysmic crash of ... everything! They dropped us right into the moments after the global blackout to immediately show us the impact it would have. It was like the opening of a big budget summer blockbuster.
Each year, as the new fall season approaches, I go through all the magazine and online sources talking about the various shows to try and figure out which ones I'm going to be excited about, and which I'm going to avoid like the plague.
Inevitably, I wind up sampling plenty of shows from which I should have steered clear. At the same time, a few shows will slip between the cracks, and then I'm bashing my head against the wall because I missed out on the beginning of something special. I hate coming into things late.
This year, I decided to share my top and bottom five selections. I'm sure the rest of the Squadders and you will have differing opinions than mine, but that's what makes America great, right? Chime in with your own lists in the comments.
The networks have had a quiet summer, quietly introducing scripted bomb after scripted bomb, so they're certainly ready to jump into the new fall season. And It looks to be an interesting one. ABC is scheduling a two-hour block of new comedies on Wednesdays as the sitcom tries to make a comeback.
Even more risky is NBC handing 10:00 to Jay Leno every night of the week. Everyone's waiting to see how that one plays out. FOX is banking on huge positive buzz for Glee to make it a hit, while ABC is hoping FlashForward can pick up where Lost is leaving off when it wraps its run this season.
To help you with it all, TV Squad has put together a handy calendar of all the premieres so you can schedule responsibly in this busy time of TV watching. Some nights have as many as twelve premieres scheduled, so you might need to invest in a few more DVRs to catch all your favorites; Monday's still look grim. Bookmark this page and you'll have it handy to help see you through.
Dominic Monaghan might be showing up on Lost this season, if you believe the rumors that are going around that old characters will make a return to the show in some way. But he's also going to be a regular on FlashForward, ABC's other mysterious-time show. Here's a short clip that introduces his character.
It's great how he can be so menacing and tough even though he's, um, my height.
Every year, various ad agencies, marketers, and consultants choose which new TV shows they think are going to be winners, and which are going to crash and burn. They're not always accurate, of course, but it's still interesting to see what they pick.
ABC is banking big on comedy this fall, with a Wednesday night lineup featuring four new sitcoms starring some familiar faces. The network is also set to unveil more high-concept dramas, including Flash Forward, V, The Forgotten and Eastwick.
I caught the first act of the Flash Forward pilot during the network's upfront presentation in May. It was good enough to become my most anticipated show of the upcoming fall season. My second most anticipated show is V, the revamp of the '80 series/miniseries about an alien invasion. ABC hasn't released full screeners for V or Flash Forward yet, but we got advanced looks at some of the network's other new shows, including Eastwick and Cougar Town, the new comedy from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. Look for previews of more new ABC shows here at TV Squad before the fall season kicks off in September.
It seems like a no-brainer that television and Comic-Con would go together like peanut butter and jelly. But TV has actually been a bit slow to the game and viewed their presence at Comic-Con as something that goes together like peanut butter and regular butter (trust me, I've tried peanut butter and butter, and it's not good).
This year, studios have recognized the importance of the annual geek con-fab and are presenting more shows and panels than ever before. There is going to be more TV at the Con than you can shake a stick at, so don't forgot your shaking sticks.
Why so many? Variety reports that studios and networks are recognizing the buzz they can generate at the convention through electronic social networking and good ol' word-of-mouth by showcasing and premiering exclusive screenings of their shows.
Someone you might not expect is going to have a recurring role on ABC's mysterioius new series Flash Forward. Who do you think it is? (Answer after the jump.)
ABC will kick off its upcoming fall season in earnest Sept. 21 with three nights of Dancing With the Stars. The hit show – that continues to gain viewers no matter how much I wish it would die and stay dead -- will lead off the network's prime time schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays before being reduced to two nights a week to make room for a pair new comedies.
There's still no word on exactly when Lost will return, but the new mystery drama Flash Forward will bow Sept. 24 at 8 p.m., right before the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy.
The new seasons of Ugly Betty and Supernanny will debut in October with several new and renewed shows – like Scrubs, Brothers & Sisters, Eastwick and Private Practice – expected to show up on the network schedule later.
Fans of Lost got a sneak peek at ABC's upcoming sci-fi drama Flash Forward during last night's season finale. The show is based on a Robert J. Sawyer novel where everyone is knocked unconscious for a few minutes and sees a vision of the future. The show has a great cast, including Joseph Fiennes, Courtney B. Vance, and Star Trek's John Cho, and an intriguing premise.
ABC's new promo tells us ... well, nothing really, other than the basic plot of the show. We do get a glimpse of what looks like Joseph Fiennes running around in a post-apocalyptic city, which I'm guessing is part of his "flash forward."
Fiennes played the title character in Shakespeare in Love and still has a bit of a movie career, so seeing him on television does seem a bit like slumming. On the other hand, while Cho has had memorable movie roles such as Harold in the Harold and Kumar franchise as well as Sulu in the upcoming Star Trek movie, he has had a recurring television role on Ugly Betty. A co-starring television role for him doesn't seem that much a stretch.
Despite this potential good casting, I am ambivalent with regards to Flash Forward. With regards to its creators, David Goyer has had more misses than hits in terms of his movies and Brandon Braga was one of the responsible parties for Star Trek: Enterprise (and co-writer of the utter crap series finale. Something I will never forgive him for). I would give the series a shot when it eventually gets to television but don't have high hopes
When exactly did we start lusting after sci-fi mystery shows with such a vengeance? That's the question I'm asking myself after reading the news about ABC's Flash Forward, a drama pilot starring Courtney B. Vance (pictured) and Jack Davenport.
The show is based on Robert J. Sawyer's sci-fi novel and follows the chaos that ensues after everyone in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Oh, and everyone has a mysterious vision of the future that changes their lives forever.
See, I'm the perfect viewer for this show, because I'm already formulating ideas about what might have caused the chaos (aliens in a time-warp) and what the vision of the future means (aliens cross-breeding with humans). I love these kinds of weird-mystery shows where you have to figure out what's going on and what it all means.
As if it wasn't obvious from the last moments of the Desperate Housewives season finale... You may remember Susan kissing another man during the show's highly anticipated flash forward. And James Denton told People that Mike and Susan are definitely split up. However, we're not losing James Denton from ABC's hit show altogether. "I'm not sure exactly in what capacity. Marc Cherry is being a little cagey. It's going to be interesting to see what happens. But I will certainly be on the show. It's a relief to me, trust me," the 45-year-old actor told People. What's with that last bit about the new storyline being a "relief"?
One thing you have to say about the powers that be at Desperate Housewives, they're really great with casting. Great looking guys, beautiful women, quirky character actors; we've seen them all on Wisteria Lane and usually they leave a lasting impression.
The latest name to check in to Desperate Housewives is Neal McDonough. He'll be appearing in the new season and Hollywood Reporter is wondering how he'd do with Nicolette Sheridan's character, Edie Britt. Is that wondering or playing matchmaker? How do we know that Marc Cherry isn't setting him up as a mystery man from Bree's past? Cherry is nothing if not inventive, so good luck trying to anticipate his plotlines!
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.
Each year, as the new fall season approaches, I go through all the magazine and online sources talking about the various shows to try and figure out which ones I'm going to be excited about, and which I'm going to avoid like the plague. 
The networks have had a quiet summer, quietly introducing scripted bomb after scripted bomb, so they're certainly ready to jump into the new fall season. And It looks to be an interesting one. ABC is scheduling a two-hour block of new comedies on Wednesdays as the sitcom tries to make a comeback. 
Every year, various ad agencies, marketers, and consultants choose which new TV shows they think are going to be winners, and which are going to crash and burn. They're not always accurate, of course, but it's still interesting to see what they pick.
ABC is banking big on comedy this fall, with a Wednesday night lineup featuring four new sitcoms starring some familiar faces. The network is also set to unveil more high-concept dramas, including Flash Forward, V, The Forgotten and Eastwick.
It seems like a no-brainer that television and Comic-Con would go together like peanut butter and jelly. But TV has actually been a bit slow to the game and viewed their presence at Comic-Con as something that goes together like peanut butter and regular butter (trust me, I've tried peanut butter and butter, and it's not good). 
ABC will kick off its 
ABC is adding some star power to its new Lost-style drama Flash Forward. Joseph Fiennes and John Cho 
When exactly did we start lusting after sci-fi mystery shows with such a vengeance? That's the question I'm asking myself after reading 
As if it wasn't obvious from the last moments of the 
One thing you have to say about the powers that be at 
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