What's New On Tube - Winter 2009 - Part 2

Here are the rest of the midseason replacements, by date:

*Means Brand Spanking New Shows

Sunday, Jan. 25 & Monday, Jan. 26

The Last Templar (NBC) – A good, old-fashioned mini-series event! This one follows Manhattan archaeologist Tess Chaykin (Mira Sorvino) and FBI agent Sean Daley (Scott Foley) as they delve into the secret world of the medieval Knights Templar. The cast is rounded out by Victor Garber (Eli Stone, Alias) as a high-placed Vatican envoy, and Omar Shariff (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia) as a Greek savant who comes to the rescue of Tess and Sean after a shipwreck. Does the whole thing sound a bit Da Vinci Code to you? That may be, but it’s a helluva cast and I’m a TV whore – come watch with me, won’t you?…

Monday, Feb. 2

Medium (NBC) – Ah, familiarity. Every year, NBC has thought about scrapping this gem and replacing it. This year, they tried out My Own Worst Enemy in its time slot, and we saw how well that worked. This is a fun drama about family life and… oh yeah, Patricia Arquette plays a psychic who works for the D.A. solving crimes. And her daughters are coming into the family business, getting psychic flashes in their dreams. I’ve got a vision myself – NBC…won’t be…so stupid...about trying to ditch this show anymore. Yay!

Wednesday, Feb. 11

Important Things with Demetri Martin (Comedy Central) – If you haven’t checked out this comedian yet, his stand-up special “Person” (on DVD) is a good crash course. It should give you a glimpse into Martin’s world of straight-faced comedic delivery (the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the great Steven Wright), music and art. Or you may recognize him as a correspondant on The Daily Show, with his Trendspotting segment. Either way, this new show should be a Chappelle Show-esque blending of stand-up routines and pre-recorded skits. Somehow, though, I doubt the phrase “I’m Demetri Martin, bitch!” will ever be uttered…

Friday, Feb. 13

*Dollhouse (Fox) – Joss Whedon. Eliza Dushku. For most of us geeks, those two reasons are more than enough. But there was a bit of work stoppage on production to retool some scripts, and suddenly everyone’s a naysayer. And the Friday nights on Fox timeslot certainly brings back bad memories of Firefly’s early demise, especially premiering on a Friday the 13th. But how ‘bout we give the show a chance before we assume it’s already canceled, hmmm? The Dollhouse is a secret organization that rents out operatives whose minds have been wiped clean so that they could be imprinted with whatever personality the mission requires. And you will watch and tell Fox that you love it. Just do it – so sayeth Joss. Amen!

Terminator (Fox) – Okay, this isn’t a mid-season show, but it is a new night – to pair it with the more suitable sci-fi themed Dollhouse.

Monday, March 9

*Castle (ABC) – The incomparable Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Drive) plays lead character Richard Castle, a successful murder-mystery writer. He is called in to help NYPD homicide when a killer starts copying murders described in Castle’s books.

Sunday, March 15

*Kings (NBC) – Ian McShane (Deadwood) stars in this modern re-imagining of the biblical story of King David. Here, David Shepherd (Christopher Egan) is a soldier who rescues the king’s son from enemy territory, setting events in motion to eventually bring peace. David becomes something of a celebrity, gaining the attention of many a young lady’s eye (including, of course, the king’s daughter). He gets swept up into this world of politics, hero-worship and questioned loyalties, wondering if he’s the man everyone wants him to be.

Tuesday, March 17

Reaper (CW) – Okay, everyone knows I’m cuckoo for this show, but seriously people – WATCH REAPER! It’s one of the most funny, original shows in years, and the cast works phenomenally well together. And check this out – it premieres on St. Paddy’s day! So even if you go to bed drunk and wake up in the morning with a little Reaper on your Tivo, no one has to know. And for those of you who have been watching, the second season is a short 13 episodes long, - so what do we have to look forward to? Well, hopefully we’ll find out how Sam’s dad survived the getting-buried-alive thing. And we’ll find out if Sam is actually the Devil’s bouncing baby boy. Oh, and we’ll be introduced to Morgan – who is DEFINITELY a spawn of you-know-who. Oh, and there will be enough viewers to ensure a season 3 – nudge-nudge, wink-wink…

Tuesday, March 24

*Cupid (ABC) – 10 years ago, Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars) had an amazingly cute and quirky show featuring a little-known actor by the name of Jeremy Piven as Trevor Hale. Hale’s problem was the delusion that he was actually Cupid, sent to Earth in mortal form with the task of matching 100 couples without the aid of magic. The show used a weekly therapy session (with the lovely Paula Marshall as his shrink) to tackle his supposed problem. The underlying question, though, (which never got answered due to the series’ early cancellation) was whether or not he actually WAS Cupid. In 2009, Rob Thomas gets a mulligan, launching version 2.0 with Bobby Cannavale assuming the title role - and hopefully he’ll get more closure than Mr. Piven did…

Wednesday, April 8

*The Unusuals (ABC) – A funny cop show produced by Dennis Leary… is it the sequel to The Job? No? Well, if it’s half as funny, it’ll be worth a watch. Detective Casey Schraeger (Joan of Arcadia’s Amber Tamblyn) gets moved from vice to homicide because she’s an honest cop who could be trusted. But when everyone on the new squad has their own wacky secrets, hijinks ensue. Harold Perrineau (Michael from Lost) plays another member of this police farce...

Thursday, April 9

*Harper's Island (CBS) – They’re billing it as “A 13-episode mystery event!” It follows the adventures of a wedding party on an isolated island outside Seattle – an island that just happened to have a string of unsolved murders seven years prior. Now they try to survive while the killer’s back to his old tricks – I’m guessing about a murder a week. That’s why I’m having MY wedding at the beautiful Crystal Lake Resort. Yikes…

March (No firm release date yet)

*The Penguins of Madagascar (Nickelodeon) – I haven’t seen the 2nd Madagascar film yet, but if asked what the best part of the first flick was? Definitely the homicidal mercenary antics of the penguins. Will giving them their own show be too much of a good thing? Let’s hope their mischievous ways continue to keep us laughing.

That's all for now - check back soon for more useless knowledge!