TVSquad

Hey, check it out! A show got renewed for another season. The Hollywood Reporter says Spike TV gave the go-ahead for another ten episode batch of its fun MANswers late-night series. The show answers those questions that men think about but that may not be socially acceptable to actually ask around real live people. Then through re-enactments, one-on-one interviews and other methods they find the answers. It's slickly produced and actually does answer some interesting questions, but I'm a guy. Maybe women think all the questions are stupid. They probably are. They're GUY questions!

Just as happened with parent series Doctor Who, those of us stateside won't have to wait as long after the British airing of Torchwood's second season to see it here, though ironically it has yet to be announced when it will premiere on BBC Two in the UK. TVGuide.com tells us the second season of BBC America's biggest hit comes to us beginning January 26. And with James Marsters (Buffy/Angel) dropping in for a guest shot, and Doctor Who's Freema Agyeman (companion Martha) checking in for an extended stay mid-season, this second go round with Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen and the gang is shaping up to be more exciting than the first.

Marsters will play a time-agent criminal who "goes around in different times killing people with no remorse at all." His character Spike, remains one of the most popular in the Buffy-verse, so I expect Torchwood's ratings to see another "spike." (Boo! Boo! Hiss! Get off the stage!).

This Sunday, Spike TV will honor martial arts legend Bruce Lee by broadcasting a few of his movies, not to mention a bit of cross-promotion with GameTrailers.com. Here's the schedule:

• 1:00 p.m.: Game of Death
• 3:00 p.m.: Fist of Fury
• 8:00 p.m.: Enter the Dragon
• 10:30 p.m.: Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story

Enter the Dragon will be presented by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, who will share anecdotes about her father and some behind-the-scenes footage. Also, both the GameTrailers and Spike TV sites will feature digital content to coincide with "Bruce Lee Day."

You might not recognize the name Mitch Rouse, but if you're a fan of Reno 911! and Strangers with Candy, you'd probably recognize his face. He's appeared on Reno 911! as the handsome lead firefighter in a few episodes, and has also shown up on Strangers with Candy playing a cop (he's also a co-creator fo the show along with Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert). In fact, his character has the first speaking role in the very first Strangers episode. Also, he's written a couple episodes for the series.

Strangers with Candy is one of my top three favorite shows of all time, and Reno 911! ain't too shabby, either, so I'm intrigued about The Factory, a new comedy Rouse is developing for Spike. The series has not been picked up yet, but Variety reports that it's close.

If you haven't seen Talkshow with Spike Feresten, you're not the only one. The Saturday night talk show that airs on FOX after MAD TV hasn't exactly received stellar ratings, but apparently it's attracted enough of that younger demographic the advertisers love, so it's getting a second season.

I've been watching it this season, and while it didn't exactly come out with guns blazing, Feresten is a funny and amicable host, and the half-hour running time is perfect. Can you imagine Conan or Letterman cut down to half an hour? No more filler and long interviews, just funny funny funny and then end the show. Well, maybe that wouldn't work for those guys, but it works in my little fantasy world.

Variety also reports that talks are still underway concerning a new season of MAD TV. There's no word on whether it will or won't be renewed, but it is possible that Talkshow could take over MAD TV's slot if MAD TV show doesn't return.

MANswers, a new game show for Spike centering on the kind of questions men want to ask but don't find "socially acceptable" will be given a nine-episode run and will debut sometime this fall. The show will pit contestants against one another and include re-enactments and interviews with experts.

Variety reports that some of these so-called "socially unacceptable" questions include "how long can a man survive on just beer?" and "what's the best organ to eat if you're a cannibal?"

I would never have seen a single episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel if I hadn't recently lived with some friends who were huge fans of both series. I could never get into Buffy, but I did like Angel, and was more than a little perturbed to find out the series ended abruptly with no real resolution at all.

This summer, Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo will star in an eight-episode series for Spike called The Kill Pit. The series will focus on a group of Iraq war veterans who attempt to rob a bank and end up in the middle of a stand-off. Leguizamo will play the mastermind behind the robbery, and Wahlberg will play the negotiator who attempts to bring the hostage situation to a peaceful end.

This sounds like an idea that's been done before, but I do like the idea of creating a series that's meant to only last a certain amount of time. This gives viewers the benefit of knowing there's a impending climax as opposed to a show like Lost that will just keep going and risk losing viewers as more and more people give up hope of anything ever being resolved.

The Kill Pit was written by James DeMonaco. Steve Shill will direct the first four one-hour episodes of the series.

If you missed the premiere of the new Spike cartoon Afro Samurai, you can watch the full episode on Spike's Web site. Samuel L. Jackson voices the lead character and also executive produces the program, which is geared towards mature audiences. Ron Pearlman voices Justice, the evil villain who killed the samurai's father. Kelly Hu plays Okiku, a friend from the samurai's past. Jackson also voices the comic relief character, Ninja Ninja. Music for the series was composed by The RZA.

The new series is based on a graphic novel by Takashi Okazaki, who has also worked on the manga series Evangelion, among many other projects, including the artwork for the Spider-Man 2 DVD.