'Morning, dabblers! Before we get into all the awesomeness coming your way on the comicsblog today, I've some sad news to share.
My television, RC, passed away over the weekend. The death of an electronic family member is always unexpected, and never easy. It's been tough, let me tell you. And as many of you have probably been there yourselves, all I ask is that you hang with me in spirit.
Things could be worse. I've only known RC (her full name was RCA ColorTrak ) for a little over seven months, but she was a lively one. An old girl to be sure, but I never thought she'd go off the air.
Or that the hunk of junk decided to call it quits about two hours before Friday's Smallville episode. Why couldn't she have held on just one more friggin' night? It's almost like she begrudged me my Oliver Queen fix. And I don't even want to think about tonight's Heroes, that poor show. We all know they can't afford even one less viewer not tuning in, but I may not have a choice. If Milo Ventimiglia gets a pink slip in May, it'll be on me. Never mind that my set, set me up. Milo won't give a rat's ass and he'll shun me for life.
If small monkeys really do live inside machines, I've got a hunch they were born with really crappy attitudes.
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ABC's Lost received all the attention (including our's) last week, and a lot of folks missed NBC's (relatively) big news. The network announced Thursday that Warner Bros' action-comedy-geekfest Chuck is officially returning at mid-season, with a scheduled two-hour premiere on Sunday, January 10th, 2010. The show, starring Zachary Levi as the titular character, will then move into its regular 8pm night time-slot on Monday the 11th, bumping Heroes into the 9pm position. (Heroes begins the New Year with a two-hour special on Monday, January 4th.)
Chuck's story is an interesting one. NBC's ordered nineteen new episodes of Chuck, just under a full season's slate of 22 (the show will be preempted during the network's Winter Olympics coverage). This is a big change from just over a year ago, when despite a strong grassroots campaign to keep the series alive, budget constraints almost kept the show from seeing Season Three. But thanks to an 11th hour promotional deal between NBC and the fast-food chain Subway, Chuck was given a second chance and a new line of credit. But as a result, says the Chicago Tribune, viewers should expect to see subtle yet direct product placement of Subway sandwiches in most Chuck episodes next year.
I can't really find fault with that, can you? I eat my fair share of Subway, and damn it, I know I'm not the only one. Plus, considering that several ex-superheroes have been cast to guest star in Chuck's fourth season --foremost among them the just-turned 3o years old Brandon Routh -- any objections I might've had would be moot.
Routh's own website yields the only clue anywhere on the 'Net as to his upcoming Chuck character: he'll be playing a rival spy, Chuck's nemesis. And according to some late-breaking news just this morning, he'll also be vying for the affections of Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), Chuck's blonde-bombshell love interest. All the intrigue's got Routh attached to the show for several episodes, and Smallville's Lana Lang - actress Kristen Kreuk -- will be making her Chuck debut right along with him. Kreuk has yet to convince me she can act, and while her website appears to have some tantalizing Chuck news of its own, it's 'members only.' Frankly, I'd rather join a leper colony.
But I digress -- I do like Routh, and previous comments aside, it'll be mildly cute to see both Superman alumni yucking it up on screen together. It's been too long since I've seen Routh in anything other than Telemundo re-runs of the Bryan Singer movie, and I'm glad he'll be sticking around Chuck for a while. I just wonder if the Subway people will be as pleased. Tights or no tights, with Routh on camera, 'five dollar foot-long' takes on a whole new meaning.
Enough said! If you'd like to see what's up with Chuck this January, check out the fourth season trailer. [Link] UPDATE: Chuck's latest promo spot with Routh and Kreuk just hit the Tube -- and we've got the [Link].
Not to be undone, Fox announced that 24 will return for its next season with a four-hour, two-night opener beginning January 17th, 2010. The network has made no mention if 24 will be endorsing any foodstuffs of dubious nutritional value.
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Coming Up on the Comicsblog: Smallville becomes the kind of comic book television God intended. 'Absolute Justice' and more -- this week on abbracadabbling.
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