TVSquad

I went into this updated version of Flash Gordon with basically zero knowledge of the character and its many previous incarnations. I know Flash has appeared in a comic strip, comic books, movie serials and on television, but all of those popped up before my time. Since this is clearly SciFi's attempt to bring the character back and make him appealing to a new audience, I figure my ignorance is beneficial.

So anyway, is the new Flash any good?

Yes, probably.

There have been a lot of Muppet projects in and out of development over the last couple years or so. Some came to fruition, some never quite made it, and others still remain in limbo.

There has been talk for awhile now about the possibility of a brand new, primetime Muppet series, a rumor TV Guide recently perpetuated, although Jim Henson Studios denies such a project exists. Citing an inside source, TV Guide writes that the new series would use modern technology to allow the Muppets to actually get up and walk around.

Here's what USA has in development for 2008:

• Halo will center on a man who wakes up one morning to find a halo over his head. Brilliant! I mean, the halo will be "brilliant," as in: "luminous" -- the show itself doesn't sound brilliant at all. The man tries to get rid of the halo but finds himself doing good deeds in the meantime. Actually, I'm being a smartass, and if it weren't a USA series I'd probably be rolling my eyes at the idea, but something tells me there might be something more substantive here than what the synopsis implies.

Variety Shac, an all-women comedy troupe consisting of Shonali Bhowmik, Heather Lawless, Chelsea Peretti and Andrea Rosen, are developing a sketch comedy series for Adult Swim. At least, this interview with Peretti in the NY Observer alludes to such.

You can watch some of Variety Shac's short films here, or check out Peretti's stuff on Super Deluxe. I like what I've seen, but I'm not sure how it would play to an Adult Swim audience, which I would guess is mostly male. And yes, I'm perfectly aware of how closed-minded that makes me sound, but I think Variety Shac's perverse brand of lady-centric comedy would work better on Comedy Central. I'm not saying it would crash and burn on Adult Swim, but I think it would struggle to find an audience.

Of course, all we have to go one is that one tiny snippet from the Observer, we don't know what stage of development the series is in, or if it's been officially picked up by Adult Swim. I'll keep you guys posted as I find out more.

[via The Apiary]

Ricky's leaving, Bill's staying, and a bunch of other things are happening at HBO in regards to comedy (and drama). Here's what's what:

The new drama series, Tell Me You Love Me, kicks off September 9 at 9:00 p.m. It delves into the lives of three couples who all go to the same therapist. There's a couple in their 40s who no longer have sex, a couple in their 30s struggling to have their first child, and a couple in their 20s struggling to remain faithful to one another. So, there's a lot of struggling, in case I didn't use that word enough. The cast includes Jane Alexander, Michelle Borth, Tim DeKay, Aislinn Paul, Adam Scott, Kate Towne, Sonya Walger and Ally Walker.

Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz, who both serve as executive producers on American Dad, have signed a development deal with 20th Century Fox TV.

The men won't have to leave American Dad under the deal, but will be allowed to develop new projects for the studio. Previously, the men worked on such shows as Two Guys and a Girl (which they co-created), Do Over and Like Family.

Almost a year ago I told you former Jackass jackass Steve-O would be starring in a new reality series called Camp Steve-O. That series is now set to debut October 1 at 11:00 p.m., but the name has changed to Dr. Steve-O.

The premise, though, is still the same. Steve-O will use his own brand of juvenile machismo to "de-wussify" a group of men nominated by their wives, girlfriends, buddies, and sometimes themselves. Steve-O travels around helping these poor souls through various stunts and dares.

Clearly, I'm not the target demographic for this series, as I've never associated being a real man with the type of buffoonery Steve-O is known for, but I'll admit I might be out of the loop and missed the memo that reads brave men shave their heads and willing allow themselves to be smacked in the testicles. If that's the criteria for not being a wuss, slap a dress on me and call me Thumbelina.

According to the paperwork I got back yesterday, I'm a man. Because of this, I'm pretty much conditioned not to care about anything that appears on Lifetime.

Still, I figured it wouldn't kill me to at least watch the first episode of Army Wives, a new original dramatic series that focuses on the lives of several women living on an Army base, rather than judging it without seeing it.

You know what? It's not that bad. Admittedly, the show is geared toward women and is at times a bit too "touchy feely" for my tastes, but I can tell a good series when I see one, and this one has potential, as long as people give it a chance and don't completely ignore it just because it happens to be on Lifetime.

Bravo is developing a new reality series called Money Shot that pits photographers against one another for the chance to have their pictures appear in the pages of People. The photographers will take place in a number of different competitions and have their work judged by a panel of experts who either work as photographers, or who have been shot by famous photographers. I'm not entirely sure why having your picture taken makes you an expert anymore than listening to music makes you a musician, but no one at Bravo has asked me, so what the heck do I know?

The new series is currently in development. No word yet on when it will air. While we wait for the series to debut, I think we should all place bets on who will be the first commenter to crack a joke about the title of this new series and its connection to the porn industry. I'll bet five bucks someone makes a joke within ten minutes of me posting this.

In January, I mentioned that SciFi would, most likely, be developing a Flash Gordon series. Well, they've found their Flash Gordon, and twenty-two episodes have been ordered, so keep your eyes peeled for the show this July. Flash Gordon, which began as a comic strip in the '30s, has been adapted into just about every medium save for wax cylinder recordings. SciFi's plans are to create a show that's lighter in tone than its other series, such as Battlestar Galactica, but not quite as campy as previous incarnations.

CinemaBlend writes that Christopher Showerman, who has previously appeared in movies such as the made-for-video George of the Jungle 2 and Frankenbabe, is being considered to play Flash in the new series.

First of all, big props to Toon Zone for being on top of this stuff.

Cartoon Network has five new shows kicking off this year. They are:

• Re-Animated: a new series based on the original Cartoon Network movie about a young boy who has his brain replaced with that of a famous animator and begins to see the animator's creations appear in real life.
• Chowder: the story of an apprentice to a famous chef named Mung Dahl. Chowder wants to be a master chef, but he eats everything he sees. Chowder was created by C. H. Greenblatt, who previously worked on SpongeBob SquarePants and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
• Currently untitled Santo series: Originally developed by Cartoon Network for Mexican audiences and based on the legendary Santo the Silver Masked Man, this new series will see the famed wrestler win bouts inside the ring while fighting vampires, monsters and robots outside the ring.
• The Secret Saturdays: Doc, Drew and Zak Saturday are scientists who work together to save the world from strange and inexplicable events. As part of a network of scientists, the trio battle the evil V.V. Argost and a mutant half-giant / half-spider.
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Out of all these new series, this one looks the most interesting to me. Creator Thurop Van Orman's (Powerpuff Girls, Camp Lazlo) series focuses on a young sailor named Flapjack who lives inside a whale named Bubbles and listens to tales of the sea from a pirate named Captain K'nuckles. There's a great interview with Van Orman on the Frederator blog, along with some images from the upcoming series. I'm absolutely enamored by the design of this cartoon.

While the Jim Henson Company works away on film and TV projects, we've been constantly teased with the promise of a new Muppet series. The last time this happened was with the short-lived Muppets Tonight in the '90s. Attempts to bring the gang back to television haven't come to fruition, including a pilot in 2004 for America's Next Muppet that was never picked up as a series.