My 2014 Comic-Con TV Panels

In a week, it'll all be over. San Diego Comic-Con (known by many simply as "Comic-Con") begins on Wednesday night at 6pm and runs until Sunday at 5pm. Plans for the convention begin over a year in advance, and the dates for the subsequent event are generally known before the current one ends. Online pre-registration for badges takes hours. Determining your hotel order for the lottery is a lengthy process. But what really takes time and effort is planning how you'll make the most of those four days... from panels to see to booths to visit, from autograph possibilities to sorting through shopping exclusives, from to sifting through film schedules to discerning the best off-site activities, the work involved is great. [flashback to our previous SDCC schedules: 2011, 2012, 2013.] And that's considering you've been before and don't need to learn how to get around San Diego, where to eat, and how the logistics of attending work.

Because of the amount of work involved (note that I haven't even mentioned the hours spent in lines yet), outsiders don't think Comic-Con is worth the hassle and expense. It is a pricey event (for starters, the vast majority of hotel options come in over $180/night), but it's also one of a kind. Repeat attendees share a camaraderie like no other; once you've been initiated into SDCC, you understand. You share a kindred spirit with all who swarm upon the San Diego Convention Center, whether they be comic book collectors, zombie fanatics, wannabe filmmakers, creative cosplayers, or another variety of pop culture junkie. Folks at Comic-Con appreciate the passion everyone has for something, regardless of whether there's overlap in interest, and that's what makes the ambiance of the environment truly special.

All of that said, I've painstakingly narrowed down my selections and made my schedule for how I will spend Comic-Con this year. I still have twelve television panels on my list, but I'm not going to be camping out in Ballroom 20 or 6 BCF all day to maximize my TV program exposure. Why? Because I have other interests, too, and can't wait for my geek-out moments, which inevitably happen (like after the Disney Afternoon panel last year).

So, without further ado, here are the television panels I'm hoping to see, tweet, and report on this year:

Thursday, July 24th
10:30-11:30am: Legends of TV Land (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), featuring Betty White, among others, who will answer questions about making history on television. Plus, a look at the animated episode of Hot in Cleveland.

11:30am - 12:30pm: Dig: A USA Network Event Series (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), an inside look at this fast-paced international thriller, with actors participating via satellite from Israel.

8-9pm: Psychology of Cult TV Shows (Room 23ABC), will feature several scholars and scientists and examine the cult followings of shows like Doctor Who, Firefly, and Buffy. As someone who has studied Rocky Horror cult fanatics, I'm especially interested in the scholars.

Friday, July 25th
11:30am-12:30pm: iZombie Pilot Screening and Q&A (Room6BCF), for the new CW series that will premiere midseason.

1:30-2:30pm: The Chair: One Script, Two Visions, One Winner (Marriott Hall 2), for the new Starz series. Both directors and the creator will be there, and scenes from the movies and the series will be shown. I've already written a little about this show, and look forward to more.

4:30-5:30pm: Falling Skies: Season 4 Panel (Room 6BCF), for what may very well be the final panel for this post-apocalyptic television show. I've seen the three before this one (2011, 2012, 2013), and while they're not groundbreaking and tend to show you a clip from the very next episode, they're a goof time.

5:30-6:30pm: Roar Comics: Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, and More (Room 8), because I love that some of my favorite characters are in serialized narrative format. Some announcements are also promised, so perhaps more television shows are going that way?

7-8pm: The Unexplained Files (Room 7AB), from Science Channel, will be taking a deeper look at stuff you can't believe. It's as simple as that, but still truly fascinating, plus there will be scholars, eye witnesses, and prizes.

Saturday, July 26th:
10-11am: Why Not Serious? Comedy vs. Drama in Animation (Room 9), caught my eye because I hadn't thought about how little action and adventure is in cartoons. I grew up with Danger Mouse, and The Awesomes is around, but the big 80s/90s X-Men, Batman, and the like aren't really there anymore, so I am interested in the theories as to why not.

5-6pm: The Digital Revolution: The Convergence of Television and the Internet (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), will hopefully offer more information than I've already been learning lately about how ratings are changing and people are "cord-cutting."

8-11pm: Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment: The Flash, Constantine, Arrow, and the World Premiere of Gotham (Hall H) may be too tough to get into, as the Gotham pilot is very highly anticipated, plus a full viewing of The Flash will also entice people, but I'm game to try.

Sunday, July 27th:
10:15-11:15am Sesame Street & Pop Culture: 45 Years of Spoofs on the 'Street' (Room 6A) is near and dear to by heart. Two new parodies (on Comic-Con and Star Wars, no less!), plus looking at how popular culture has influenced the iconic show, with muppeteers on the panel.

Yeah, you probably noticed that there are quite a few gaps in this schedule... so what else am I planning on seeing, panel-wise? Well, Thursday features a Hanna-Barbera offering I don't want to miss, plus a Goonies discussion, and a look at retro 90s stuff. Friday and Saturday I'll hit a little of the Film Festival for a little bit of old-time Disney magic, plus take in a few how-to sessions about writing television shows. And Sunday I'm back at my old scholarly ways with an anthropological study panel, plus the making of the LEGO movie. Keep checking back as we report on the many distinct facets that make up Comic-Con!

Photo Recapping 2013 Comic-Con: The Floor

a glimpse at how crowded just a tiny portion of the floor can be. by Amy K. Bredemeyer

On Thursday night of Comic-Con I was waiting in a line and got to talking with those around me, as normally happens. Well, one of the guys was on his fourth SDCC and was going to attend his very first panel the next day. I was dumbfounded and promptly asked how he spends his days, noticing that he had a four-day badge. Turns out, he is one of those people who literally spends all day every day in Exhibit Hall, known more commonly as "on The Floor." Now, after three rounds at the annual convention myself, I would say I spend 6-8 hours perusing the booths each year. I don't get to everything, I'm not able to wait in every swag line or preview all of the shows/movies/games, and I don't wait hours for autographs. But, spending your entire Con in Exhibit Hall just sounds so exhausting to me, both mentally and physically. If you've been, you understand what I mean. If you haven't, allow me to give you a small taste of the craziness that is The Floor, starting with some film booths:

Hobbit! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

more Hobbit. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Lionsgate and Summit had a combined booth this year, and it switched up its features, including Ender's Game. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

You could get customized t-shirts for Ender's Game! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

these are real guys dressed up! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

there are many book booths at Comic-Con, and you can pick up lots of older things for free! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Exclusive items are a big deal, and many people wait hours
in line for a chance to buy something! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

like this collectible! (not on the previous list)
by Jonathan Bredemeyer

time for television shows! ABC brought a ship replica you could enter to watch
a scene from the new third season of Once Upon a Time. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Starz brought a ship, too, for Black Sails. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

and a cannon! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

The Walking Dead had zombies everywhere, and a bit lookout stand. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

even classic favorites were there, like Dragon Ball Z. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

and you can pick up artwork for anything imaginable, including Castle and Firefly. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

what is this? I have no idea. But it moved and was scary. by Amy K. Bredemeyer

and now for some shots of some booths that really stood out for one reason or another... by Jonathan Bredemeyer

some kind of ice king or chill room or something? by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Max Steel. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

I don't remember what this was promoting, but it was heavily armored! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Daft Punk concert set model. you know, as there's something for everyone! by Jonathan Bredemeyer

I love the old toys for sale! Check out some of these TMNT classics! by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Star Trek bridge. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

obligatory Star Wars homage. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

 

some celebs did booth signings, like Joss Whedon at Dark Horse. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

and the cast from Under the Dome at the CBS booth. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

and this guy hung out on the top of FOX's booth. by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Now, this is such a small sampling of what there was to see, but you get a little taste of the variety, from movies and television to toys and books to original art and collectibles. There were also many comic book booths, of course, but selecting one over others to display is rather difficult. Stay tuned for more Comic-Con articles and photo recaps to come, including more shots from the floor but in more compact categories!

Favorite Episodes: Firefly

It's been a while since I did a Favorites Post, and because I recently went through and watched the entire series of Firefly, I thought I'd give that an entry. Now, if you're not familiar with the cult series, it was a sci-fi western that ran only fourteen episodes before FOX canceled it. Creator Joss Whedon was notably very upset about the show not thriving, though he was able to make a film to wrap up things a little bit. Firefly has grown in followers over the years, and there was a huge to-do for it at Comic-Con last year. It was only after that, in fact, that I realized I must cave and watch this series. I liked it but didn't love it, so thankfully it was short.

wikipedia

Anyway, I thought I'd mention my favorite thing about each of the episodes today, rather than my typical routine of going through and picking the best episode from each season. I'm going with the chronological order to the story, not the order in which the episodes first appeared (a very possible reason as to why the show didn't do that well when it originally aired).

1. "Serenity" This is not one of the best episodes, in my opinion, which may be the reason FOX chose not to air it first, though it does a great job of explaining who is who and how they ended up on this particular spaceship. My favorite scene is actually the flashback to war times - you really get a sense of Zoe's commitment to Mal.

2. "The Train Job" This episode definitely embraces the "sci-fi western" theme, which is why I think it aired first. It also showcases how "weird" River can be, with her "two by two, hands of blue" repeated rhyme, which is definitely the part of the episodes that intrigued me most.

3. "Bushwhacked" I was dying to understand Reavers from the moment I began watching this series, and was surprised to learn that television viewers never really got the full effect - they'd have to wait for the movie for that! In this episode, however, we only get a sparse introduction. Never fear, though... my favorite part was actually Simon and River hiding outside the ship!

4. "Shindig" The ball is my favorite, of course! Kaylee might not have known what she was doing at such a fancy event, but I loved watching her throughout it.

5. "Safe" My problem with this episode is that it really starts getting me fired up about Shepherd, for whom we never get a full backstory. On the flip side, my favorite part of this episode is how much we learn about Simon and River's past, from the time they played as children until Simon fought with his parents, believing River was in danger.

6. "Our Mrs. Reynolds" Back to the western idea again. On a related note, it's not high up on my list. However, I really liked the idea of Inara and Mal being a couple, and this episode truly shows her caring about him when she kisses him. Rarely is a romantic scene my favorite, but he was unconscious because of poison anyway.

7. "Jaynestown" I think this is the installment that I found most odd. The idea that Jayne is worshiped in a small village and didn't know about it astonishes me to a point. My favorite part of the episode, however, takes place on the ship, where River rewrites Shepherd's Bible! It was just so unexpected and funny.

8. "Out of Gas" This episode is so incredibly that I was frozen as I watched the events proceed. It's probably my favorite, as despite all of the edge-of-your-seat drama that takes place as Mal suffers from a lack of oxygen, we get so much great detail about the other characters, particularly Kaylee. 

9. "Ariel" Another great episode, though it makes me hate Jayne a little more after he tries to sell-out River and Simon. The better storyline, however, is Mal and Zoey wheeling bodies through the hospital and then stealing drugs to sell. I came close to choosing the scene where Mal almost kills Jayne, though...

10. "War Stories" I'd be surprised if you went with something other than the scene where River demonstrates that she can shoot people without looking at them. The entire rescue mission was fairly impressive, but I think I'd be like Kaylee after experiencing it - fearful of what, exactly, River is capable of doing!

11. "Trash" I can't believe Saffron is back! And now married to someone else! I think the Robin Hood aspect appealed most to me - the gang working on an elaborate heist to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Of course, nothing is straightforward on this series, so there have to be some twists, and that's where things really get exciting - like overriding a trash chute, only to wind up with the trash pickup not going as planned.

12. "The Message" This was actually the first episode I saw, years ago when I was at my husband's family's house for the holidays. And, the one scene that stuck with me from that viewing wound up being my favorite... when Tracey wakes up from "being dead" and eventually admits that he is smuggling special organs in this body. Talk about the future of medicine!

13. "Heart of Gold" Definitely one of my least-favorite episodes (those heavy western elements kill me!), this one takes place at a brothel where there's a pregnant Companion. The title of the episode really describes Mal - he'll take on a mission for Inara, and my favorite scene is the two of them together - neither wants to admit their feelings, but they're so present it's unmistakable. 

14. "Objects in Space" The obvious and overstated favorite scene in this episode is toward the end, where River reveals that she's hiding on the enemy's ship. My favorite, however, is the fact that River goes around reading minds... I guess I had kind of figured that she could do it, but I was still surprised when she started demonstrating that ability almost continuously.

AND, BONUS, the movie Serenity: This one is really easy for me. As someone who really wanted to learn more about the Reavers, my favorite part of the film was the log that the gang watches when they're on the uninhabited planet. It explains that the Alliance had wanted to chemically induce suppressed aggression, but not only did it go too far, some people had the opposite reaction, becoming the hyper-aggressive Reavers.

Well, what were your favorite parts of Firefly?

Fun Friday: Firefly in Legos

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Now, if you follow along on Twitter, you probably know that I had not seen the cult-acclaimed Firefly when it ran originally, or in the succeeding ten years. In fact, I just whipped through the 14-episode series a couple of weeks ago, after being lulled in by a combination of my husband's insistence and wanting to know what all of the fuss was about after witnessing the crazy Browncoats fans at Comic-Con. An upcoming post will feature my thoughts on the series, but today let me draw your attention to the fact that someone took 475 hours to use 70,000 Legos to build their own Serenity, which is the Firefly spaceship. There are a ton of great photos there and the attention to detail is amazing, so it's definitely worth a few minutes of your time! And, even if you're not a Firefly fan, I encourage you to just take a peek... it's some magnificent craftsmanship. And, to help you out, here's a look at what the ship and its crew looks like.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm580359168/tt0303461

Also, I should note that tis isn't the first attempt to re-create the iconic spacecraft in Legos - in fact, I found this one dating to 1995 - but I would be utterly shocked if there's a better depiction out there than the one 21 months in the making!

Comic-Con 2012: The Superlatives

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, I'm home from Comic-Con 2012. As I continue to catch you all up on the fabulous things that I saw and heard while there, I wanted to go ahead and give a little run-down list in the meantime. I imagine that those who also attended will have some strong opinions as well, so sound off below. If you didn't make it there this year, let us know what you thought of our picks - would you have guessed they'd go this way? Are there other superlatives you'd like to hear me rant about?

Best Panel: "And Then What Happened?" This Friday night panel had some fabulous writing talent there to talk about how some great shows (like Dollhouse, Firefly, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and FlashForward) met their demise. We learned about how storylines changed to fit cancellation in some cases but not others, and heard about what was planned to take place next, should a miracle-save have occurred.

Best Screening: Elementary, screened Thursday afternoon in Ballroom 20. I was pleasantly surprised.

Best Swag: Game of Thrones! they loaded us down with TONS of goodies! 

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Best Poster: The four in the Lionsgate plastic win this one. The Hunger Games, Expendables 2, Dredd, and Possession were all nice.

Best Booth Experience: Going to the Falling Skies booth and having a Skitters harness nearly put on you was a lot of fun. Not only did you get a photo of the experience, but you also got a set of light-up spikes that attached to the back of your lanyard.

Best Downtown Option: Giving blood at the Omni netted you a True Blood shirt, an extra swag bag, various other goodies, and a Brave print. Though the C-Net party was a lot of fun in a short period of time, complete with free food and drinks!

Best Costume: I saw two very good Trons. One used light-up wire and the other looked so realistic, complete with the ring that came off the back! also, what was with all of the stormtroopers this year? I feel like there were WAY MORE than last year! Brave was also everywhere you looked.

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Photo: Jonathan Bredemeyer

Worst Panel: The Big Bang Theory. Johnny Galecki wasn't there. Only children were asking questions. The cast didn't know the answers to anything. The surprise astronaut thing confused Simon Helberg and pissed off a good portion of the audience. AND there was no "special screening" of any kind.

Worst Screening: Aside from the fact that The Big Bang Theory lied in their description about having a screening, I'd give this one to The Walking Dead. Who shows the same two-minute clip twice within an hour? We weren't looking for Easter Eggs, guys.

Worst Swag: aside from the panels where one might expect swag that wasn't delivered, I'd have to say Falling Skies. I couldn't believe that we got zip-up hoodies last year and bracelets this year! Psych is a close second, though... plastic sunglasses were weak, especially compared with last year's t-shirts! oh, and Revolution giving out the same pin you could get other places was junky, too.

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Worst Poster: Oz! I couldn't believe that the swag ticket was for the same mini-poster that you could get elsewhere at the Con!

Worst Line: Overall, it was probably for Firefly. I had a couple of close calls, but the only time a line seriously pissed me off this year was Hall H on Sunday afternoon. I didn't get in it until after Doctor Who had started, as I wanted to see The Cleveland Show and Sons of Anarchy. Well, nobody was updating us on the situation, but we saw people pour out after Doctor Who was over... yet we weren't being let in. Twenty-three minutes after Doctor Who ended (and eight into the time allotted for The Cleveland Show), we still weren't even moving, though we had easily seen a thousand people exit Hall H. We eventually walked into a very-nearly-empty room (which I hear never filled up after that), but the schedule was hugely thrown off and The Cleveland Show began about half an hour late.

Funniest Panel: The Cleveland Show. The singing and voices were great, and the questions led to some fun answers from the panel. I almost said Psych, though. The chemistry on that cast and the humor in the questions from the audience made for an entertaining hour.

Most Surprisingly Good Panel: The Cleveland Show. I wasn't expecting too much, so the live songs and tons of voices on-the-spot thrilled me.

Most Surprisingly Bad Panel: Again, The Big Bang Theory just disappointed me all over the place.

Biggest Regret: not going to the Lynn Johnston's panel. It conflicted with The Big Bang Theory, and probably would have kept me out of that room for the rest of the day. I saw tweets about how awesome that hour was.

Friday at Comic-Con: Moving Around Part 3 of 3

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

After Spartacus, I was on the move again, this time to Room 7AB, a smaller room holding less than 500 people. I was pretty thrilled at seeing And Then What Happened? Serialized Shows That Ended Too Soon, as longtime readers know that I have thoroughly covered some of those. There was a panel for Aquabats! immediately afterward, and many people around me in line were waiting for that one. As luck would have it, I made it in without a struggle, and wound up having a fabulous time for the hour! The panel was full of writers and producers from shows that didn't last, including Andrew Chambliss, Scott M. Gimple, Ian Goldberg, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Sarah Watson, and Jose Molina. We saw some great clips of how some now-dead shows finished but the bulk of the time was really spent enjoying the conversation. Of course, we were cut short to begin getting in the next group of people, but here are some fabulous tidbits:

- with FlashForward, the writers were repeatedly asked about what was going to happen next, but it didn't really matter. The conjugation being "flashforwarding" or "flashingforward" would have been addressed in a second season. They also would be flashing six months ahead in season 2, three months ahead in season 3, and eventually only a few days... the end result would have been to have 17 people left, with Olivia being one of them.
- After about the third episode of The Middleman, they knew they weren't going to last, so the goal became to come up with what could be a great DVD like Freaks & Geeks. They also kinda did whatever they wanted after a while, because nobody was watching. They were perpetually over by about $5,000 per episode. Oh, and Wendy's apprentice would have been her father!
- The Sarah Connor Chronicles were unfortunately shortened because of the Writer's Strike, enabling only 9 episodes and an unintentional cliffhanger, requiring a change in direction for the second season.
- With Firefly, Jose Molina explained that they wanted to get to the backstories of more of the characters. Inara would have been terminally ill should the show have continued, even throughout what was the Serenity movie.
- The Dollhouse comic books fill in some of the blanks because the finale was set far into the future. They also pretty much burned through the entire planned storyline in the first season because they knew they weren't gonna last.

Time for another room! Everyone who was anyone knew that the "replays" from Friday's panels in Hall H and Ballroom 20 were going to start with an encore of the Firefly 10-Year Anniversary Reunion panel, but the room they were planning to show them in wasn't all that large... and, I didn't make it in. Luckily, because there were hundreds (if not another thousand or so) more people trying to get in, they actually opened up the front half of Ballroom 20 for us! It was probably 8:34pm before they actually started rolling, and we may have missed out on both the clips and the giveaways, but something is better than nothing! I was already aware that Jewel Staite was out of the country, but I was a little sad that Gina Torres didn't make it for some reason. We did, however, have Jose Molina, Tim Minear, Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau (loved her dress, by the way!) present. While the recording did show that they took questions from their adoring fans, much of the panel was conversation generated by those who made this legendary "post-apocalyptic western" so magnificent. Some things that stood out to me...

- Nathan talked about how Joss was the guy who gave him the "best character [he's] ever played and the best words that ever came out of [his] mouth." Joss was also the first person to give him a chance to "be anything other than a teeny part."
- Joss wanted to tell "an immigration story" but he "needed spaceships" or else he "gets cranky."

Photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

- Joss had promised that he wouldn't take Tim away from Angel, but he did anyway.
- One of Sean Maher's favorite episodes is "Ariel."
- Adam asked Tim if he could wear the "now famous Jayne hat" throughout the episode... then said he was gonna do it anyway, as Joss wasn't there. The original hat, by the way, earned $5,000 for charity.
- On casting Summer, Joss said that the "amount of vulnerability and strength she can convey is beyond magnetic." On casting Nathan, Joss said that there was "never a moment from the time they met that he did not think [Nathan was] the captain."
- Firefly is the biggest seller for DarkHorse Comics.
- Alan's sister did a painting of Joss protecting a firefly in a har from some evil FOX executives, and it still hangs in Joss's home.
- just a hilarious quote: "remember the time we were off the air for ten years?"
- When asked what the fans mean to him, Joss pauses, cries, then stands to a cheering audience to say that "you feel like you're in that world... when you're telling a story, you're trying to connect to people in a particular way... the way in which they inhabit the world... the story is alive because of you."

No Resurrection for Firefly; Updates for Next Season; Comic Book Store Show?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

There have been a few interesting occurrences on The Price is Right lately. The first of which being that the winners of the showcase showdowns both spun $1.00 (one did it twice!), but guessed horribly off on the actual showcases. Being off by more than $20,000 and still winning? Craziness. A few days later, a woman won two cars. I feel like this used to happen somewhat regularly, but it made some news this week!

Though Netflix realizes how much Firefly is streamed, it will not be helping to resurrect the show, since the cast has aged and the sets have been destroyed.

Josh Lucas is joining The Firm on NBC. This will be his first major tv gig.

Season 4 of Jersey Shore will premiere in early August, and season 5 has been confirmed.

Extreme Couponing has been renewed for a second season, premiering in September. 

The new 90210 has ditched Teddy's character, writing him off early next season.

Kevin Smith is working on a reality show about a comic book store for AMC.

In case you missed it, Sarah Palin gave some bad American history last week, about Paul Revere. People tried to change Wikipedia to match her story, and Stephen Colbert acted it out according to her version.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey was renewed for a fourth season.

Various critics are starting to put out some first thoughts on the new shows for next season. You can see some snap judgments for ABC and FOX. And, similarly, there's now a longer preview out for Terra Nova.

Although it's been off the air for about five years now, Fear Factor is returning to television.

Katie Couric will indeed have a syndicated talk show on ABC.

Michael Cera lends his voice for an episode of The Simpsons next season.

NBC will get to air the Olympics until at least 2020, despite the fact that they won't necessarily air the events live.

NBC's The Marriage Ref will return to the air on Sunday, June 26th.

Charlie Sheen is Dominating TV News

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

There's another new show coming out in the fall on ABC. This one will star James Van Der Beek, and it's called Don't Trust the B*tch in Apt. 23, a title with which I am not thrilled.

On Sunday, March 6th, at 8pm, Firefly will premiere on the Science Channel. It will air at 10pm on subsequent Sunday nights.

John Lithgow is playing Barney's father on How I Met Your Mother, and his first episode will be March 21st.

When Charlie Sheen comes back and production on Two and a Half Men resumes, they might be doing it without a studio audience, if Sheen is still.... "out there." And then Charlie Sheen talked about taking a vacation before going back to work. And then Sheen called into a radio show and ranted to high heaven, part of which you can see here. So, the rest of the season (4 more episodes at this point), has been canceled. And, the latest, Charlie Sheen is going to get a 20/20 special interview this Tuesday night at 10pm on ABC.

Farrah from Teen Mom is now modeling clothes that she designed. 

Jo from Teen Mom 2 got arrested for marijuana.

Amber from Teen Mom now has naked photos on the internet.

If you have DirecTV, you get free Starz channels through tomorrow. For a complete list of what channels this includes, click here.

Despite recently being in the unfortunate 7:30pm slot, FOX has renewed American Dad for a seventh season.

On Monday, Canada launches an all-chicken channel. Get excited for... The Rotisserie Channel!

TBS's Glory Daze was canceled. I'm glad, since I didn't like that trash.

Some of the characters from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (including Will, Carlton, Ashley, Hilary, and Uncle Phil) will be doing a reunion of sorts.

The "Movie Made for TV" and "TV Miniseries" categories will be merged for the Emmys. They will allow six total nominations, rather than five.