It's great to be J.J. Abrams. His newest spec script about a married spy couple is currently undergoing a bidding war that it looks like NBC is winning. On top of that, he's got a new comedy on Fox and he's behind one of the best revitalizations of a franchise in the history of the medium. The script is co-written by Josh Reims, who worked on shows such as ABC's Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money.
As others have noted, this new spec script could play as a sequel to his hit show Alias. That show did end with Sydney and Michael married with two kids being asked to return to service. Sadly, I think Jennifer Garner would consider that a backwards step in her career no matter how much she owes Abrams. Perhaps she could make a cameo?
It's interesting that the television spinoff of Mr. & Mrs. Smith didn't last long and had the very same premise. But then, Abrams wasn't behind that one.
The Jay Leno Show has only been on for a week, but it's already starting to fall into a familiar pattern, and that's a good thing for late night. Familiarity creates a steady audience by making it more comforting, and helps weed out what doesn't work and focus on what does.
Unfortunately, the thing that makes the late night format work is breaking Jay's show.
Just about the only thing that works with Jay's show is his monologue. The rest make him feel more out of his element than Donnie from The Big Lebowski.
Jennifer Garner is returning to TV, but not in any sort of on-camera capacity. Her Vandalia Films shingle has gotten a first-look deal with ABC, the same network that hosted the series that made her a star, Alias. Apparently they want to produce fare that is friendly to females such as Grey's Anatomy.
Admittedly, while she has been getting movie roles, I haven't seen any of them recently (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past wasn't my cup of tea). The Elektra franchise never took off. It's probably a good idea to branch herself out like this. I did enjoy the first two seasons of Alias, but I attribute that more to J.J. Abrams than Jennifer Garner.
How does she find the time to do all this yet still be a mother of two? Thankfully she has Ben Affleck to pick up the slack. Maybe he can even make a cameo in whatever television projects her company creates.
Jennifer Garner appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, and Letterman spread ointment all over her knees and arms. OK, that won't make any sense until you see the context, but it doesn't look too sanitary to me. Garner isn't the only one hurt - Letterman sounds sick (hope it's not that dreaded...no, I won't say it).
When Fringe premiered last September, critics around the country distilled the new sci-fi drama down to one simple sentence: it's like a cross between Alias and The X-Files. At the time, that's what pretty much guaranteed I'd tune in. I still found that assessment a little odd since I always thought Alias had a healthy dose of influence from Mulder and Scully to begin with.
Regardless, Fringe clearly took a few cues from both shows in many ways. However, after this past Tuesday's episode ("Bad Dreams", S01E17), I stared to get a little annoyed. I've seen this before.
The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:
It's super commercial night! There may be some sort of game on in between, but this is the day of sweet new ads. A few have popped up online already: check out the trailers for the Transformers sequel and Star Trek.
...And here are the trailers for Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell and Pushing Daisies' Anna Friel, Year One, Up, and more.
"So you're just gonna make SPITE NOISE until the movie ends, huh? Just because I had the ignorance to ask you to stop talking during a movie. And you, the parents, condoning it. Brilliant." --Cinematical's Scott Weinberg did not have a good experience watching The Uninvited.
I love Jennifer Garner and think she should be in movies all the time (that is, if she doesn't want to make me really happy by returning to television), so it makes me sad that she's doing movies like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. It... doesn't look good.
So I'm trying to find someone who would be interested in watching my baby for about 12 hours or so, so I can go to an AMC theater and watch all five Best Picture Oscar nominees. Any takers?
Ricky Gervais is filming a movie in Massachusetts with Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Jason Bateman, John Hodgman, and Louis C.K and blogging about it.
Marion Ross answers questions from Entertainment Weekly readers.
Jeff Zucker wouldn't mind Katie Couric coming back to NBC.
Obviously I mean the actor, David Anders. But wouldn't it be beyond cool to see the character of Sark show up on Heroes? Maybe he got some sort of power from being so close to all that Rambaldi business. Maybe he can have the power to impersonate anyone's voice exactly (Anders is actually from Oregon but does a British accent perfectly).
Kristin over on E! is reporting that Anders is under negotiations to join the NBC hit this fall. He would play a new character named Kane (Isabelle has details on the character here), though there are no other details about the character. Of course, it's not a done deal, but it would be fantastic if this actually happened.
New mom Jennifer Garner is hoping to return to television, this time as an executive producer. She and Lauren Sanchez-Whitesell, former host of So You Think You Can Dance?, are pitching a show by moms and for moms to an unnamed network next week. Sanchez-Whitesell tells People that she will host and Garner will executive produce and make occasional appearances.
She compares it to The View, but for mommies. Topics will include everything from advice on getting kids to eat and sleep and behave, and also talk about the strains put on a marriage when kids come into the picture. (It sounds like ParentDish for television!)
Sanchez-Whitesell has a one-year old son with husband Patrick Whitesell, who just happens to be Ben Affleck's agent. Affleck and Garner had a daughter, Violet, in December of 2005.
So, you've seen every single episode of Lost and you own all the DVDs and you consider yourself an expert. Check out these five questions and see if you really know as much as you think you do.
1. What is the name of the only hit song that Charlie's band Driveshaft had?
No, Spielberg didn't produce the show or even direct an episode, but it is one of his favorite TV shows and he admires creator/director J.J. Abrams so much that he agreed to be interviewed for the set.
Spielberg liked the show so much that he actually asked Abrams to write the War of the Worlds movie for him, but Abrams couldn't do it because he was working on Lost. Of course, after that, Tom Cruise also contacted Abrams because he was a big fan of Alias (he got the DVDs and watched them all in one weekend, as he has said many times in interviews) and he hired Abrams to write the third Mission: Impossible movie.
On a related note, I had planned on buying the Alias set this month, but after buying the West Wing and Twilight Zone sets and it being Christmas and all, I really don't want to spend the money right now. But if any TV Squad reader (or coworker of mine) would like the buy the set for me, well, I wouldn't say no to that at all.
To support Greg Grunberg's Pediatric Epilepsy Project, the cast of Heroes has each drawn his or her own character for an online auction. Bidding has begun and will conclude in approximately twenty days. I have to say that Hayden Panettiere gets extra points for using more than one colored marker in her rendering of Claire Bennet and Milo Ventimiglia managed to add a little perspective to his drawing of Peter Petrelli.
This isn't the first time television stars have contributed their handiwork to the Pediatric Epilepsy Project, which directly supports UCLA's Pediatric Neurology Department. You can also purchase hand-painted cards by such celebrities as Jennifer Garner, David Schwimmer, Ryan Seacrest, Teri Hatcher, Sean Hayes and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Can I tell you how much of a crush I have on Jenna Fischer? That's another post for another time.
Entertainment Weekly has an interview with The Office star, where she talks about her struggling actor days (she always seemed to play waitresses and teachers and secretaries), her husband, director James Gunn (she's married? Damn it!), and what if feels like to watch Jim flirting with the woman at the other Dunder-Mifflin branch. But the most interesting part of the interview, and it's only quickly mentioned and not talked about further, is that Fischer revealing that she auditioned for the role of agent Sydney Bristow on Alias, but didn't get the gig because, even though she was good, she wasn't "hot" enough.
Well, Jennifer Garner was great in the role, but wouldn't it have been great to see Sydney make little cute faces toward the camera and play jokes on Sloane?
A spinach recall is fair reason to do jokes about tossing salads. "Call some friends over, have some drinks, and toss each other's salads!" It's a matter of safety, people.
"Papa Don't Preach": Jon did some nice coverage about the Pope's comments (and apology) regarding Islam. I'm going to have to try "I was just quoting a Byzantine emperor!" excuse some time in the near future. Senior Vatican City and San Marino Correspondent John Oliver elaborated on the situation. I thought the comparison of the popes to all the various James Bonds was fantastic.
This was hinted at a few months ago, but now it's official: on November 21, the same day the Alias 5th season DVD set is released (with tons of extras), Buena Vista is going to release a limited edition (40,000 copies) Complete Alias set. The set is going to come in a box that looks like a Rambaldi artifact, and will include 29 discs! The discs will have every single episode of the series, and there will be a bonus disc hidden inside a secret compartment in the set that will include many extras, including interviews with the cast and Jennifer Garner's first interview she ever did.
Not enough for you? The set will also include a hardcover book that will answer all of your Alias question, with an intro from J.J. Abrams himself. All this for only $200.
A few days ago I said I wanted the Complete West Wing set that was coming out this fall for Christmas. But if you wanted to buy this one for me instead I wouldn't mind. Your choice.
It's great to be J.J. Abrams. His newest spec script about a married spy couple is currently undergoing a bidding war that it looks like NBC is winning. On top of that, he's got a new comedy on Fox and he's behind one of the best revitalizations of a franchise in the history of the medium. The script is co-written by Josh Reims, who worked on shows such as ABC's Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money.
The folks at our sister site 
What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.
Obviously I mean the actor, David Anders. But wouldn't it be beyond cool to see the character of Sark show up on Heroes? Maybe he got some sort of power from being so close to all that Rambaldi business. Maybe he can have the power to impersonate anyone's voice exactly (Anders is actually from Oregon but does a British accent perfectly).
New mom Jennifer Garner is hoping to return to television, this time as an executive producer. She and Lauren Sanchez-Whitesell, former host of So You Think You Can Dance?, are pitching a show by moms and for moms to an unnamed network next week. Sanchez-Whitesell tells 
So, you've seen every single episode of Lost and you own all the DVDs and you consider yourself an expert. Check out these five questions and see if you really know as much as you think you do.
Director Steven Spielberg is 
To support Greg Grunberg's Pediatric Epilepsy Project, the cast of Heroes has each drawn his or her own character for an 
Can I tell you how much of a crush I have on Jenna Fischer? That's another post for another time.
A spinach recall is fair reason to do jokes about tossing salads. "Call some friends over, have some drinks, and toss each other's salads!" It's a matter of safety, people.
This was hinted at a few months ago, but now it's official: on November 21, the same day the Alias 5th season DVD set is released (with tons of extras), Buena Vista is going to release a limited edition (40,000 copies) 
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
