My Review of DC TV's Crossover: "Crisis On Infinite Earths: Hours 1-3" (Supergirl/Batwoman/TheFlash)

It's time for the biggest crossover event that the Arrow universe could come up with and while in years past, I would've reviewed the whole thing together, this time around, it's an event that has five episodes, spanning two months, so here's a review of the first three hours of Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Written by Robert Rovner & Marc Guggenheim & Derek Simon & Jay Faerber & Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson & Lauren Certo & Sterling Gates & Eric Wallace
Directed by Jesse Warn & Laura Belsey & David McWhirter

Anti-Monitor: "It is time to end the age of heroes and everything you hold close."

In last year's crossover event, Elseworlds, we knew this moment was coming and it's certainly been prepared for with the latest seasons of two of the shows in question. As we kick things off in the Supergirl side of things, worlds are being destroyed and Kara herself can do nothing to save her mother, Alura (Erica Durance) as Argo City is one of the first worlds to perish but the use of Lyla/Harbinger (Audrey Marie Anderson) does however mean that most of our players are not perishing as Kara is soon reunited with Superman, Lois Lane, Green Arrow, Mia Smoak, Sara Lance, Batwoman, The Flash and The Atom and in this first part, there's a mixture of recon with some of the group, getting Jonathan Kent back from Earth 16 in 20148 where Sara briefly reunited with an older Oliver while in the present day, our Oliver ended up a casualty.

Now this early in the game seemed a little too quick to have Oliver killed off and needless to say once we move into the Batwoman segment of things, this was something that wasn't going to stick. I did like Sara voicing concerns about bringing Oliver back from the dead even Mia wasn't so keen on listening to then. Then again, the second part did give us an interesting team up of Sara, Mia, Barry and Constantine as they managed to bring Oliver back from the dead but it took striking a deal with a certain someone in The Flash side of things and Diggle reaching out to his "brother" in order to get Oliver back on side. Of course the biggest highlight in the second part of this installment was Iris, Lois and Clark trying to stop Lex Luthor's (Jon Cryer) one man mission to kill as many versions of Superman as he could by setting the Earth 96 version of the character (Brandon Routh) onto our Clark before Iris and Lois managed to get one over on Lex. Having Routh get to play a role he played over a decade ago was great for the second and third parts of this crossover event. It's like he never left the role to begin with.

However while I was happy to see another Superman in the mix, the only Batman we got was in Earth 99 and had become a homicidal maniac that died a rather anticlimactic death to boot. On the plus side, he was played by Kevin Conroy who made the most of his limited screentime and aside from Ruby Rose, at least Cadmus Johnson was the only other member of Batwoman to appear in this episode, albeit as a more nihilistic and somewhat off putting version of Luke Fox. I did like the scenes that Kate had in these episodes with both Bruce and Kara and the fact that the she was getting her head around the bigger universal threats beyond Gotham.

An ongoing theme in the episodes was the fact that they are seven Paragons out there that are able to stop the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) and throughout the episodes we learned that Supergirl represented hope, Batwoman courage, Sara destiny, Earth 96 Superman truth, Martian Manhunter honor, The Flash love while newly added into the mix, pre second Atom Ryan Choi (Osiric Chau) of course would represent humanity. Of course as a new father/husband, Ryan was somewhat reluctant to embrace his destiny until Iris was able to reach out to him and Ryan jumped onto the Waverider along with everyone else as the Anti-Monitor and Pariah (Tom Cavanagh) brought things to a rather interesting standstill.

By the end of this episode, it seemed that Oliver was about to become the new Spectre after the previous one, Jim Corrigan (Stephen Lobo) while Earth 90 Flash (JohnWesley Shipp) made a noble sacrifice to help save this Earth, along the arrival of Black Lightning in the third hour also helped matters to boot. It might have taken three seasons but it seems that Jefferson is now a part of this universe, even if he has lost his wife and daughters in the mix. I do get the feeling though that in the next two hours, both Jefferson and Kara are going to find their Earths merged in with Earth 1, assuming that all the deaths on the Waverider are of course reversed and can we talk about Lex Luthor replacing Earth 96 Superman so he could be a Paragon? Damn, that fella will do anything for attention.

- Okay cameos and there were a lot of them in these three hours, so let's break them down.
- Earth 9: Titans with both Curran Walters and Alan Ritchson appearing as Robin II and Hawk, then Earth 66 had Burt Ward as himself while Earth 89 had Robert Wuhl as a Gotham City citizen.
- Earth X saw a brief appearance of The Ray while Earth 75 showed us Lois grieving over a dead Superman.
- Earth 76 only gave us Mick but also a voice cameo from Wentworth Miller as the Waverider's Leo Snart.
- Earth 167 gave us Tom Welling as a retired/non powered Clark Kent and Erica Durance's Lois Lane as they both have daughters, live on the farm and Lex was not impressed with Clark being normal now.
- Earth 203 briefly gave Huntress (Ashley Scott) with a voice cameo from Dina Meyer's Oracle while Earth 666 also gave us Lucifer (Tom Ellis), who flirted with Constantine and Earth 18 also gave us a more sleazier version of Jonah Hex (Johnathon Schaech). We also got an appearance from Wil Wheaton on Earth 38 and Griffin Newman on Earth 1. I think that covers everything.
- Basically shows/movies such as Batman (1989), Smallville, Birds Of Prey, Lucifer, Superman Returns and Titans are now sort of a part of this universe.

Crisis On Infinite Earths has gotten off to a flying start and while this is the most ambitious and fan service driven event yet, there's definitely a sense of things being set up for the future (Mia's spin-off for a start) and the end of an era for other things. I loved so many moments, it's impossible to highlight them all and I certainly gasped at certain parts too. It's going to be a long wait for the remaining two parts of this event but I don't doubt it will be worth it though.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of DC TV's Crossover: "Elseworlds" (The Flash/Arrow/Supergirl/Batwoman)

It's that time of year when most of the Arrow shows band together for their annual crossover event (except for Legends Of Tomorrow but they had their own one to contend with this year) and after Invasion! and Crisis On Earth X, it was time to further up the ante with a little bit of an Elseworlds feel for things.

Written by Eric Wallace & Sam Chalsen & Caroline Dries & Marc Guggenheim & Derek Simon & Robert Rovner
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen & James Bamford & Jesse Warn

For the last week on Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash respectively we've had the same scene play out with Earth 90 being attacked, left in devastation and Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) fleeing as the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) is out to test different worlds in preparation for a much bigger crisis to come. This crossover then begins with the Monitor unwisely heading to Gotham City of all places and giving a magical book to Arkham doctor, John Deegan/Doctor Destiny (Jeremy Davies), who decides to play around destiny but only small steps at first. Even a clearly deranged guy responsible for keeping some of Batman's dangerous villains locked up isn't going to go all out on his first try with his new toy.

First we get into something of Freak Friday (but not really) moment where both Barry and Oliver have swapped lives and while there's some fun to be had with the confusion, the consequences soon become apparent when both of them are forced to take a trip to Earth 38 in order to get Kara's assistance on the matter. It's here that we get to see Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) once again and to make things even better, there's also the introduction of Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) to this particular universe as well. Now I'll go into the Lois/Clark dynamic later in the review but needless to say, it's a highlight in this entire event along with Barry and Oliver getting a respective taster on each other's skills/lives/struggles etc within these three episodes in question. Of course as Cisco vibes the Monitor, our three main heroes find themselves going to a particular city.

Yup, for the middle segment of this episode we're in Gotham City and while it looks a tad generic compared to the Gothic beauty of er, Gotham (which is back next month), don't expect to be seeing Batman anytime soon. Apparently the city has become a chaotic shithole, he's scarpered and his cousin Kate Kane/Batwoman (Ruby Rose)  seems to be doing a half baked job trying to keep the chaos at bay. Now, while I think some of the online vitriol towards Ruby Rose's casting was harsh and while she also wasn't particularly awful here, neither was she great and a part of me does wonder if the CW give the go ahead for a Batwoman series (a pilot is being filmed next year, a series yet to be properly picked up), then I do wonder if she's strong enough to carry her own show. Here she's mostly hostile towards our heroes, except for Kara, whom she takes a liking to. As for the Arkham bits - the Easter Eggs are lovely but the inclusion of Nora Fries (Cassandra Jean Amell - Stephen's real life wife) adds very little to proceedings while Psycho Pirate (Bob Frazer) doesn't do a lot either. Still, it does give Deegan enough time to rewrite stuff once again as Oliver and Barry back to themselves become the Trigger Twins and Deegan does the black cape as the Man of Steel.

It's amazing that what Justice League could've accomplished last year on the big screen (but never did) that this crossover got to play with. Again, I'll comment on Tyler Hoechlin's excellent acting later on but it was fun to see this newly written history play out as Barry and Oliver had to work with a 'bad' Cisco in order to get Superman and Lois to rescue Kara from Star Labs, make a deal of sorts with the Monitor in order to put things right and give Deegan a one way ticket to Arkham as a patient. However as the ending of this crossover alluded to with Batwoman's grim conversation with Oliver, it seems that Deegan hasn't been so much as stopped but more halted until the shit really hits the fan next year. Given the title of next year's crossover event, what happened in this one is going to be a cakewalk by comparison.

Now personal bits to one side - the commentaries on WestAllen and Olicity relationships and Kara trying to find her place out of the DEO, this crossover felt like it was also setting up two potential shows on the CW. The Batwoman series, which will likely happen but could go either way is one thing but a Superman series is the more tempting prospect here. Without sounding like a killjoy towards DCEU fans (and I am one of them), I think it's safe to assume that Henry Cavill won't be donning the cape anytime in the near future and with Hoechlin's version a nod to Christopher Reeve's take on the role but adding enough of his own self into the role, the CW would be nuts not to consider doing a Superman series if we're being candid here. As for Elizabeth Tulloch, I really liked her take on Lois Lane and thought both her and Hoechlin worked extremely well together, so I want to see more of them and I don't just mean in next year's crossover event. Go on, CW, you know you want to. You already have your own Lex Luthor about to appear on Supergirl in 2019. Now is the perfect time to do it before somewhere else beats you to the punch.

- Alternative Alex had longer hair and was also in the closet while Gary Green managed to sneak a cameo in here as a bartender. James made for an unconvincing biker gang leader. Lois is also pregnant and both her and Superman are going to Argo for a long while.
- There were nods to Bane, Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy, Clayface, Penguin, Riddler and Scarecrow during the Arkham bits of this crossover. We also briefly got Amazo and Deathstroke Jr (Liam Hall).
- Smallville got some love here with the use of Remy Zero's Save Me during the Kent farm scene and their Green Arrow being among the dead on Earth 90 during the start of this event.
- The next crossover event will be Crisis On Infinite Earths, coming Fall 2019.

Elseworlds might not beat Crisis On Earth X in terms of favourite crossovers for me but it was bloody great from start to finish and the fact that we've got an even bigger one to look forward is all the confirmation I need to know that most of these shows are coming back next year. Great Easter Eggs, character bits, meta humour at the whole annual event lark and yeah, this was a lot of fun. This time next year, yeah?

Rating: 9 out of 10

Top 40 TV Characters Part 3

And here is the third part of my rundown of favourite TV characters.

26: Atia (Polly Walker) - Rome

Oh, Atia. Now here's a woman who would give Cersei Lannister a run for her money when it comes to devious/sociopathic matriarchal characters. No matter what crazy antics this woman pulled - pimping out her children, torturing/ruining her enemies, Atia remained a fascinating character to watch in the show's two year run.

27: Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) - Smallville

Yes, I was tempted to pick either Clark/Lois/Chloe/Tess/Lex but I guess Oliver wins out, simply from evolving into a rogue-ish typical playboy character into an incredibly honourable and interesting hero, especially in the show's final two seasons. As allies go, Oliver was definitely one of the best when it came to having Clark's back.

28: K9 (John Leeson) - K9

Come on - it's a metal dog and while this K9 isn't quite as interesting as the ones we've seen in both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, he's still interesting enough to merit being on my list. Long live the metal dog, no matter what show he ends up on.

29: Bridget Kelly (Sarah Michelle Gellar) - Ringer

This show might have many problems in it's way but the one consistently well written and brilliant character has been Bridget Kelly - the former stripper/alcoholic whose been spending the last few months pretending to be her bitchier sister Siobhan Martin whilst falling for Andrew and trying to avoid Bodaway like the plague. That role alone has been interesting for Gellar.

30: Tess Roberts (Fiona Button) - Lip Service

Anyone should've seen this one coming. After all, I chose Alice when the first part of my list touched on The L Word and Tess certainly has similar endearing characteristics to that infamous Chart creator and here's hoping in the show's upcoming second run, she's a little less unlucky in love.

Part 4 should be up on Sunday or Monday.

Just A Little Tap On The Nose

Sorry, I was meant to do this earlier but I got delayed with stuff but my second TV jumble is here now.
Him And Her: I watched the opening episode of this last year and I wasn't particularly blown away but I gave the first series a second chance and it's sort of improved. Catching up with the first two episodes of the second series, it's still not a perfect show but it's definitely become likeable, even if a little trite that all the action seems to take place in Steve and Becky's flat. Still, with characters like Laura around, you can almost feel sorry for Steve a little, right?

Mongrels: Confession time - I've not seen the first series of this and I only caught the first two episodes of the second year last night and I'm bloody hooked. Politically incorrect puppets are funny, whether it's a pigeon killing a man with a rickshaw, a female dog singing songs about domestic abuse (really wrong but horribly funny), a cat striking a friendship with a fish or a fox inadvertently killing five Beagle dogs. I think I'm bloody hooked.

Smallville: It's been ten seasons in the making and for a finale, I think this show ended on a high. There were some lovely character moments - Clark/Lois marrying, flash forwarding into the future, Lex's brief return and of course that final moment in the two parter. Overall while this hasn't always been a perfect series, this was a perfect way of ending ten years of Clark Kent's storyline.
Threesome: Good set of episodes. I liked the one dealing with Mitch's irresponsibility (after all, we did see Alice and Ritchie's) and the one focusing on Ritchie's birthday was pretty nice too. Five episodes in and this has proved to be a fun series, even if the scenes with Ritchie and the hunky Dave are a little lightweight. I still hope that this comes back for seconds though.

The Vampire Diaries: Finally saw the last two episodes of Season 2 and will start watching the third season in early 2012. As an ending went, I felt the penultimate episode which seems to be more of bloodbath than usual was the stronger episode and probably should've been the ending but complete with Stefan in Klaus's thrall and Jeremy's new ability, the second year did end on a rather interesting note.

The X Factor: Ah, we've lost Johnny, The Risk, Frankie and Kitty thanks to the powers of votes and someone's stupidity and regained Amelia Lily in the process. The most shocking thing was The Risk exiting the competition. Any other year, the boyband would've been a shoe in for the finale but maybe we've finally reached saturation point with the boybands. As for the judges, time to tune out with their pointless arguing.

- Joe Manganiello has said that Alcide will have a bigger role in True Blood's fifth season. Dale Daley will be appearing on the series as Marcus's mother.
- Misha Collins will appearing in the 14th episode of Ringer, playing a man called Dylan with a past to both Bridget and Siobhan.
- Paul Bettany is in talks to appear in a series for Showtime called Masters Of Sex.
- Weeds has been renewed for an eighth season.
- David Anders will be playing a patient in an upcoming episode of House.
- Nicholas Lea will play real life lawman Elliot Ness in an upcoming episode of Supernatural.

The King Is Dead, Long Live The King

And here's the second of my TV jumble blog ....

Downton Abbey: If you haven't read this week's Radio Times (the Crawley ladies are on the cover), then it's become apparent from some critics that Season 2 is a little too soapy, especially with the turn of events here - William's deathbed wedding to Daisy, Matthew's paralysis, Vera's much welcomed demise, more obstacles for Bates and Anna, Carlisle having Mary in his grasp and even Robert seemingly being tempted by a new housemaid whose circumstances have some slight similarities to Ethel. On the plus side, the war is finally over but on the flipside, Lavinia is back. Can both her and Carlisle just do one already?

Merlin: There are plenty of ways a young prince might want to celebrate his birthday. Nearly being assassinated and witnessing his own father's death probably aren't that high on the list. Much as I like Anthony Stewart Head, I just won't miss Uther as a character (though Aggravaine is becoming just as annoying) and his death has been overdue. More interesting was Morgana's sense of conflict when she learned that Uther had perished due to one of her spells interfering with Merlin's attempts to save. The next episode featuring the birth of a white dragon was also interesting, even if Game Of Thrones handled that plot much better.

Smallville: Interesting set of episodes. Apart from some nice progression with Darkseid and Lois holding off on marrying Clark, I think the returns of both Zod and Kara in the last two episodes, particularly considering the effect they both had on Oliver. I can't wait to see how the last two episodes wrap up ten years of superhero antics.

The Fades: I am really loving this show now. After a slow start, it's really picked up considerable pace and while some of the female characters (apart from Sarah) still need improving, I am loving the rivarly between Angelics 'leader' Paul and Fades leader John and Sarah becoming a fade was definitely not something I expected to see. Unfortunately, the writers really are not doing a lot in Neil's favour, are they? Having him resort to taking Mac hostage to get Paul onside isn't the best way of getting us to understand his point of view.

The X Factor: It's amazing how crazy this show gets and not in a good way. Who do the producers think they're fooling? The petty squabbling between the judges is old hat and Kelly and Tulisa are acting like spoiled brats doesn't help matters. Misha B's a bully? If true, there are better ways of handling it and for the love of God, get rid of that insufferable Frankie once and for all, please. Even Gary was forced to admit he was dire and the show's handling of rock week was unbelievably bad on so many levels. Tulisa, I know you're 23 but you do realise that Kesha, Salt 'N' Pepa and Gnarls Barkley aren't rock, right? Count yourself lucky that Sami's cruise ship singing doomed her on Sunday or it would've been one of your acts for the chop.

The Walking Dead: I'm always mystified that it takes nearly a year for FXUK to air the latest seasons of Dexter and True Blood but somehow they're able to air this show within days of US transmission. The second season of this show started on Friday and it's still as slow moving but interesting as ever. I'm hoping with thirteen episodes that the show has enough time to utilize every character better than the first one did. Oh and the cliff hanger at the end of the first episode was certainly a good shocker.

- Kristofer Polaha has mentioned that there are more interesting times ahead for Henry in the next couple of episodes of Ringer.
- Pan Am is expected to be picked up for a full first season as Steve Maeda has joined the series as executive producer.
- Lea Michele has recently mentioned that she was grossed out filming a sex scene for an upcoming episode of Glee. Er, too much info there.
- Both John Hannah and Ryan Philippe will be appearing in the fifth season of Damages. Season 5 will also be the series last season as well.
- Courtney Cox and David Arquette has sold a pilot named Skinny Girl to ABC.
- True Blood's fifth season will introduce a vampire named Nora, who is one of Godric's progeny and a sister to Eric as well as a mysterious character called Salome.

A Sacrifice Or Two

And here's the second of my TV jumble blog.

Downton Abbey: I can't believe how addictive this show has become. Okay, this season isn't as good as the first but it's still worthy TV and it's making the BBC looking further silly for putting Spooks against it. The last few episodes have had some interesting plot strands and a a few disappointing ones. The lack of danger that Matthew and William were put in falls into the latter category but Ethel's pregnancy, Edith's brief dalliance with a married man, Mary's vocal abilities, Anna/Bates back on track, Cora vs. Isobel over the convalescent home and the politics between Sybil and Branson along with the briefness of Lang and O'Brien and Thomas's scheming have been fun to watch. I can't believe there's only four episodes left to go.

Merlin - Is it me or has this show gone progressively darker as it's gone on? I mean, there's still plenty of humour but this opening two parter felt darker than last years. The Calleach was a good threat (compared to Morgana and Aggravaine) and both Morgause and Lancelot's sacrifices were certainly memorable too. Storywise, I am liking the new dynamic with the main characters and for once, I'm actually feeling bad for Uther and hoping that Morgana gets a clue and realises that Emerys is Merlin. Oh and the Knights certainly add a little something as well, don't they?

Smallville: An interesting set of episodes dealing with Clark and Lois's relationship and giving us more plot strands from the parallel world stuff than before. It did mean an appearance from Jonathan, which I can't complain and the episode that featured Booster was decent enough to watch as well but again, we need more on Darkseid and with four episodes left, it does feel like they're slacking a bit there.

The Vampire Diaries: I wish TG4 would air this show earlier in the year. That way I wouldn't have to worry about Season 3 (which ITV2 are now airing) while watching the final third of Season 2. Bringing back John Gilbert has been fine but Isobel's return and subsequent death and Katherine being captured and reintroduced to Klaus (in Alaric's body) has been more of a highlight. Say what you want about this show but with episodes like that, it really can deliver.

The X Factor: Not really going to bother with the American version (though my sister loves it) but the UK version, we've done the judges houses and the first live performances resulted in 16 acts becoming 12. I can see why James and Amelia had to go but both Jon Jo and 2 Shoes could've lasted for another week or two. Oh and Louis Walsh, contrary to what you think - it is a singing competition. Or at least it very well should be. And much respect to Caroline Flack on The Xtra Factor for putting the usual rent a mob in their place. Fair enough if you don't like Kitty but I wish that lot would shut the hell up about it already.


- Rose Leslie has been cast as Ygritte in the second season of Game Of Thrones. HBO have announced the series return in April 2012.
- Emma Caulfield will be playing the Blind Witch in an upcoming episode of Once About A Time.
- ABC have started work on a version of comedy Suburban Shootout. Maybe they'll have more luck than HBO did.
- Despite being killed off in the opening episode, it turns out that Misha Collins will be returning to Supernatural as Castiel in the near future.
- Channel 5 have acquired the rights to the new series of Dallas, which they'll air next year.
- Denise Richards will guest star in an upcoming episode of 30 Rock.

We Got The Beat

Okay, it really has been a while, so apologies and here are some of the things I've been watching in the last while.

Downton Abbey - I literally spent four days last week catching up with the first series and writing up a review for it before watching the first episode of Season 2. The first episode of the new series taught me a lot of things, namely that this series isn't a flash in the pan for top notch quality entertainment on a Sunday night and that I really have become invested in the characters. The new ones were a varied bunch - I sort of sided with Ethel, Lavinia made no solid impression and Vera was a total unbridled bitch in the making. The love arcs - Matthew/Mary, Anna/Bates and Sybil/Branson all took up some good screentime but the scenes within the Somme with Matthew and Thomas were definitely the most effective, particularly towards the end. Welcome back, show.

Glee - I just watched the first episode of Season 3 yesterday and while there's too much talk about the show's ratings (overexposure can be a curse), the episode itself was actually pretty good. Sure, it would've been nice if the writers had come up with a better excuse for Blaine to transfer to McKinley and maybe Will shouldn't have booted Santana out of the group but it does seem like the show's back on fine form. I certainly enjoyed punky Quinn, the gang's take on We Got The Beat and Kurt/Rachel getting one hell of a humbling experience. Plus, the obvious tension between Finn and Blaine could make for an interesting rivalry. The biggest problem is still Sue though. I feel she is losing impact as a character and her candidacy is something that I don't is strong to be sustained throughout the series.

Smallville - I still have to catch up with E4's episode this week but the last few have been nothing but brilliant. I loved Chloe's re-introduction to the series, Martha's brief return and of course, Parallel Lionel doing his damndest to influence Alexander as well. Heck, even The Hangover themed episode was a lot more fun than it actually should've been but maybe that was because of Cassidy Freeman's singing. That being said though, the Darkseid arc does need to step up a gear though, considering that we don't have that many episodes left.

The Fades - You gotta love BBC3. They gave us the wonders of both Torchwood and Being Human and now they're hoping that The Fades can also bring them success. The ratings have certainly been good for the station and the apocalyptic scenerio that's presented here with the creepy dead things is certainly interesting. Paul's not a bad protagonist but I found myself disappointed that both Sarah and Helen were bumped off when I could've thought of two other characters I wouldn't have minded seeing the back off. Still, though I will be watching this one for the next five weeks.

The Vampire Diaries: Good set of episodes here. Rose's death certainly hit home, the build up towards Klaus has been interesting to watch along with the return of John Gilbert, werewolf lady Jules and the divide between Tyler and Caroline. In fairness, this show has certainly come leaps and bounds and the multiple plotting has certainly been more interesting than Damon's continuous veering between being good and bad. Just choose a damn side, already.

The X Factor: The last few weeks have been fine, ratings are up but have we really seen anyone with that great potential? Kelly's crying over one contestant was pretty horrid to watch and Louis needs to stop encouraging novelty acts as well. Also, I get that it wasn't intended but Simon's return last week just proved to me that the series really does work without him. Liking Gary and Tulisa the most as judges this year.

- I'll be reviewing Ringer from next week onwards. I needed to watch the first two episodes and while it's not perfect, I do want to review it.
- Alexandra Daddario has landed a multiple episode arc on Parenthood, playing the role of receptionist Rachel.
- Michael Zegan has signed up to play a new character in the second season of The Walking Dead.
- Despite being shot in the finale, Rutina Wesley will be appearing in the fifth season of True Blood. A mysterious woman will also be at the centre point of the next series.
- Downton Abbey has been renewed for a third run. The first episode of Season 2 attracted over 9 million viewers. Filming for this year's Christmas special has begun.
- Lacey Turner will appearing in David Tennant's episode of upcoming BBC series, Love Life. Filming for the series began this week.
- Matthew Rhys will be playing John Jasper in a BBC2 production of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, due to air next year for the bicentennial of Charles Dickens. Tamzin Merchant and Alun Armstrong will also appear in the two-parter.
- Merlin's fourth season will air on October 1st at 7.50pm. Misfits third year will also debut on E4 next month.
- Gilles Marini will be appearing in an upcoming episode of Modern Family, playing a character named Julian.
- Ashton Kutcher's opening episode of Two And A Half Men attracted 28 million viewers.

Man's Best Friend

And here's another TV jumble for you all to feast on ...

Angry Boys: It's been a fortnight since the last episode aired on BBC3 but it was certainly a good one to end the series with. It might have been predictable that all the legends wound up arriving at Nathan's leaving do but it worked perfectly with ending the season. It'll be interesting to see if this show is picked up for a second run, I hope it is but it's hard to say where it'll go if it does continue.
Smallville: An interesting selection episodes. The one showing us a parallel world with Clark and Tess as lovers and parallel Lionel slipping into our world was probably the best. The other two, dealing with further attacks on vigilantes and Chloe's return also kept the pace a going but the time jump at the end (five years, really?) took me by surprise. But more on Alexander soon and parallel Lionel too, please show?

The Hour: The second half of the series hasn't been perfect but it's been enjoyable. The reveal of Clarence being a Soviet spy should've been more shocking but it seemed to peter out a little and you didn't have to be a genius to see Bel getting screwed over by losing her job and Hector in one fell swoop. Freddie was still his doggedly determined self but if this show gets a second run, it does need to focus with it's conspiracy plotting a little better. Still, this was a great bit of telly. Mad Men it may not be but it was worth watching.

The X Factor: Don't shoot - I'm still watching this and while it's going to crucify both Doctor Who and Merlin in the ratings for the next four months, this series is starting off well. No Simon/Cheryl double act of naffness to contend with, though Louis's determination for novelty is ever present if Goldie is anything to go by and the show's attempts of staging drama is also a constant if George was anything to go by. As for the new lot - Tulisa and Kelly are actually pretty decent and while I admire the fact that Gary is trying to take the damn show seriously, he's trying to be Simon a little too much for my liking. Other than that, a good start, some decent potential with certain contestants as well as some rubbish ones too.

The Vampire Diaries: I still have to watch the episode dealing directly with Tyler's transformation, the last two I did watch were fun. Loved the flashbacks into Katherine's lurid past almost as much as I loved Stefan getting entombed with her. Other highlights have been Damon's rapport with Rose, the Jeremy/Bonnie/Luca triangle, Elijah's return and learning more about the mysterious Klaus. Yeah, this series is definitely shaping up as a good one.

Wilfred: When one comedy ends on BBC3, another begins and it's funny how their funniest ones nowadays seem to be the imported ones. The US version of a hit Aussie comedy has been a joy to watch with Wilfred being the most incorrigible of mutts you could possibly meet. Elijah Wood is really excelling as the repressed Ryan and characters like Jenna and Spencer work reasonably well too. Definitely worth catching.

- Billie Piper and David Tennant will be appearing in a five part BBC1 drama next year called True Love. Also featured as Gemma Chan, Jane Horricks and David Morrissey.
- Charlie Brooker and Daniel Maier have written a two hour crime spoof called A Touch Of Cloth starring Suranne Jones, Julian Rhind-Tutt and John Hannah.
- BBC have bought the rights to upcoming ABC drama, Pan Am.
- There's a possibility we'll be getting another time jump in the eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives.
- Game Of Thrones will film in both Iceland and Croatia as well as Belfast and Malta this year.
- A gay character will feature at some point during the first season of Ringer.
- Jamie Lee Curtis will be guest starring in NCIS as a love interest to Gibbs. Great coup there.