TVSquad

In 1994, I was excited about My So-Called Life and Friends, but not much else on the TV schedule caught my eye. A friend of mine loved ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, so I would go over there to hang out and watch it.

Being sci-fi buffs, we decided we should check out Earth 2, a new show that aired an hour before L&C on NBC. I have this tendency to at least try out all the new science-fiction shows, knowing that even if I like them, the odds of them surviving beyond one season are slim. I quickly gave up on M.A.N.T.I.S. over on Fox, but found myself more intrigued by Earth 2.

What a fascinating and sophisticated look at a science fiction world. It was so much more realistic and grounded than the Star Trek series could ever be. The characters were horribly flawed and they felt much more human. As expected, the show failed, but not before I got 22 great episodes that still resonate in my memory.

In a press release sent out earlier today, ABC announced that legendary actress Rita Moreno will guest star in the Ugly Betty season finale as Aunt Mirta, a Suarez family member.

Moreno, who won countless of awards along the years including an Oscar, has starred in numerous TV series and movies. Recently, she was seen as Frances Goran in two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and on George Lopez as Luisa Diaz.

Joining Moreno in the Ugly Betty finale are Six Feet Under's Justina Machado, as Cousin Clara, and Vanished's Rebecca Gayheart, set to play someone from Alex(is)'s past.

The last time we left Vanished (well, actually, the last time you left it, since I didn't watch it), star Gale Harold had been killed off after the actor had been fired from the show (according to USA Today). The show will return next week, in the network-is-going-to-cancel-it-anyway slot of Fridays at 9pm. The new star is Eddie Cibrian.

FOX asked the show's executive producer Josh Berman to wrap up the storyline in 13 episodes, the same thing that NBC asked the makers of Kidnapped to do (that show has been shoved over to Saturday nights). There's no such like for fans of CBS' Smith, which was simply canceled. (Actually, I thought Vanished was simply canceled too, but I guess it has come back to life, if temporarily.)

I wonder when the networks will start toying with the idea of giving shorter seasons to a show and giving viewers the confidence of investing in a show, especially one with an ongoing, season long mystery?

Well, FOX isn't waiting for May upfronts (when all the networks release their fall schedules) to announce that they have picked up two new shows for the fall. One is Til Death, which stars Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett as a married man (Joely Fisher is his wife) who lives next to a younger married couple. Vanished is another conspiracy drama, and stars Christopher Egan, Gale Harold, Rebecca Gayheart, and John Allen Nelson.

In other fall news, NBC has picked up all of the Law and Order shows for yet another season.