V-Mars: The Season that Never Was

Check out the mini-pilot for Veronica Mars season 4: 4 years later. It's broken into 2 parts, about 6 mins each, which you'll find below. This was what Rob Thomas and company put together to try to get V-Mars picked up for a fourth season. To no avail, unfortunately. But this is what might have been. (Oh Kristen Bell, you're wonderful. Please, Tim Kring, give her more face time on Heroes!)

CW comeback?

Every year, the E! network campaigns for one show facing impending cancellation doom. Fans can vote on E!'s website for which show they want saved, and the winner gets E!'s backing. It's worked 5 out of the 6 years E! has tried, so the odds are pretty good that the fan fav will be saved. Okay, I'll admit it. I voted. From each of the computers in the computer lab. My problem was too many of my favorite shows on the chopping block. Do I vote for Studio 60, which I've been championing from the start but has little to no chance of being saved? Do I vote for Scrubs or 30 Rock, neither of which I can imagine NBC actually dropping (hello NBC, try programming these gems at a time that's NOT against Grey's Anatomy)? Do I vote for What About Brian, a girly guilty pleasure of mine? Or The Class on NBC, which started out kind of crappy but soon became one of my favorite sitcoms? Or do I push for my old favs on the CW - Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls - which I can't imagine my life without? Well I voted for all of them. Probably not the smartest idea.

Regardless, the results were announced this week (read the article here: http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/), and my CW picks won! Due to incredibly close results, E! is campaigning to save both Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls!

Veronica Mars has always had this off-the-radar underground following clearly not represented in the Nielsen numbers. This is the second time to my knowledge that there's been a surprising swelling of support for the show. So if E!'s campaign works, please try watching it. It may have started out as an implausible show about a blonde high school wunderkid who solves mysteries for her dad's detective agency (I know, I know), but it has turned into a smart, sexy show with a little mystery, a little drama, a lot of quick, sarcastic humor and some really appealing characters. The main problem is that it's on against House. But if you don't have DVR, get it. Then set it. I saw one episode out of context first season and I didn't like it, but when I went back again and watched the third season straight through, I regretted not having watched it before. Really, if you tried it and didn't like it, it's worth a second chance. If you haven't seen it before, and E!'s campaign works, get on board. Especially if you're a Nielsen viewer. ;-)

As far as Gilmore Girls goes, I'm kind of surprised that it won. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Gilmore Girls. But since the Palladino writing team left, the show has become a shadow of itself. The writers are doing well with the impossible task they've been given, but the plot has gone for a crazy ride this season, and I'm not sure it has stayed true to the characters. But hey, I'm definitely up for giving the new writers another shot! Let's see if E! can successfully negotiate Alexis Bledel's salary, since I've heard that's why the next season's up in the air. I have a feeling little Rory's become more of a tiger than everyone realizes.

Anyway, good job to those who voted. I have a feeling I'll have to kiss Studio 60 goodbye forever... and maybe The Class as well. But at least I can keep up my CW watching if E!'s plan works. How do you feel about the results? Did your favs get saved?

TV rundown: Confessions of an obsessed fan

I'm getting pretty excited for November sweeps (insert teasing here about how TV is my life). I was really bummed last week that TV was full of reruns, and not having Studio 60 this Monday started this week off with disappointment as well. (Not to mention outrage at the Fox News article about Studio 60's possible demise... see last blog entry.) I proceeded to be disappointed Tuesday when I tuned in to Gilmore Girls only to see Rory re-opening that rocket from Logan. Reruns! Curses! But the rest of my shows came through. I decided to write a little something about a few of my favorite TV moments from this week.

Very briefly, I'd like to say that I can't believe I haven't been watching Veronica Mars all this time. I just started watching it this season, and I love it! It's cute and very clever. But where has Piz been lately? Hopefully they're saving him for sweeps week.

I'm so glad Fox is back to its regular programming. That means House is back! This week's episode was as good as ever. And House is as bitter as ever! Gotta love it. I can't believe he got arrested. Actually, what I can't believe is that we hadn't ever seen him arrested before. How great was it when Cuddy checked the pregnancy test at the end? Every week I laugh so hard when House cracks jokes about such-and-such not being "good for baby" - but I think everyone secretly wondered if she really was pregnant. That was a great moment. Speaking of Fox programming, I know I'm probably the only person in the world who watches it, but I'm glad Standoff is back too. This week's episode was surprisingly touching. (And a little gross, with that blood spilling all over the floor.) I just hope it doesn't get cancelled.

Again on Fox, Wednesday night's Bones did not disappoint. I liked the storyline this week - pagent stage moms always make for an exciting murder mystery. I didn't expect the killer to be one of the girls. Tap shoes, eh?... I always thought they'd make for a pretty good weapon. In this hopeless romantic's opinion, the best parts of this week's episode were the date Angela and Hodges went on and the scene between Booth and Bones at the end. I'm relieved that whatever's going on between Booth and Cam is over. But I'll admit it - the Booth/Bones relationship is the reason I watch. So let's move on.

I'm getting a little tired of The Nine. It's one of those shows I DVR or watch every week, but then once the next week comes I can't remember what happened. I really liked the premise when the show started, but I've been losing interest. I think they're dragging it out a little too much. I love the girl from 24, and I think all the acting is great. I'm still curious about what happened in those missing 52 hours, so I guess that's a good sign, but every week the show ends leaving me dissatisfied with what they revealed - or, more importantly, didn't reveal. Hopefully November sweeps will provide some impetus for revelation - or at least a little excitement.

Anyway, let's move on to the best night of TV - Thursday! I still haven't started watching Ugly Betty, but I DVRed it this week. Everyone keeps telling me to watch it. So my opinion on that is forthcoming.

The Office! Oh how I love thee. This week's episode was jam-packed with stuff to process. The episode was written by the girl who plays Kelly. Which makes Michael's impression of Kelly that much more hilarious. (Is there anyone who doesn't sit there thinking, "AHH! Kelly, SHUT UP." That character just grates on your nerves. So Michael's impression had me in hysterics.) I have a love/hate relationship with Michael Scott. (I had a dream about him the other night... I think maybe that's a sign you're watching too much of The Office.) We all knew a Dwali celebration would be perfect fodder for Michael's insensitivity, and he didn't disappoint. And yet when that episode ended, I felt so bad for him. Proposing to Carol in front of all those people was classic Michael Scott behavior... as was being surprised when she said no. And - ew - then he tried to kiss Pam!! But admit it, that wasn't unexpected. (Neither was Pam's deadpan response.) I'll just never cease to be amazed by these writers and how well they know the characters. I'm sick of reading reviews where people say they're warming up to that other girl Jim's working with (I refuse to even remember her name). Is there anyone else out there who wants Jim and Pam to be reunited?! Come on, people. I almost died when Pam texted Jim this week. (And very nearly had a heart attack when he was passed out on his desk and didn't answer.) Is it just me, or did you carefully inspect the TV for the rest of the half hour to see if Jim was anywhere near his phone -- and wait impatiently, hoping he'd text her back at the end? Also, I thought it might just be my insanity - I freely admit I'm obsessed with Pam and Jim - that made me wonder whether these two are always sending texts back and forth, until I read EW online and the writer also mentioned wondering that. (Yes! I'm not the only obsessed one!) I heard that next week the Scranton branch is closing, which I knew was going to happen because that's what happened on the British version. This leaves me with great hope that Pam and Jim will be reunited once again during sweeps. Even if you're not a fan, cross your fingers - if only to maintain the sanity of your friend Lisa.

Last but not least, Grey's Anatomy. How great was the Bailey/Cristina/Burke storyline this week? Maybe it's because for so long Bailey was portrayed as such a hard-ass, but there's something about seeing her insecurities that's very satisfying to me -- and manages to conjure up huge amounts of sympathy, too. Actually, maybe that's it... Cristina and Burke are portrayed the same way as Bailey. So I guess it's the parallels between the three of them - there's just something about seeing each of their raw motives and blatent insecurity. And I don't think the storyline is over, either... because by the looks Burke and Bailey both gave Cristina at the end of the episode, there's definitely more to come. (It's not just me, right? Bailey definitely figured out Cristina's the one who erased her name.) I feel so bad for George - and I thought the "are you the chicken or the pig? the ham or the eggs?" line was totally cute. When he called Callie a pig - that was classic George. Speaking of classic George, how great was the scene in the elevator when George said he'd be Meredith's Cristina if she'd be his Izzie? And who wasn't cheering for Izzie when she figured out the girl with the burn on her hand did it on purpose? Sorry Meredith, but your smugness is not McCharming. Speaking of, I think the best line of the episode was when Izzie said, "McDreamy's McSister is McBitchy!" I love that the McDreamy nickname has spiralled into a whole "thing"... McSteamy, McVet, etc. It's cute, and for some reason it never gets old. Seriously.

Okay, I guess that's it for my TV rundown. Of course those weren't the only shows I watched, but those are the noteworthy ones of the week. If you even bothered to read any of this, you may now go back to your regularly scheduled programming. (It's Saturday afternoon, so there's not much on TV... except lots o' pop culture goodness on VH1... otherwise I suggest going outside. At least till Sunday night rolls around. Then Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters will be set to record on my DVR...)