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In the last Pit column we talked about some movie news, including Ghostbusters 3, the next Muppets adventure, and FOX’s upcoming reboot of Marvel Comic’s Fantastic Four. Today lets look at some television news bits.

Lets start with a show that has been breaking Cable ratings records left and right, the AMC zombie horror series The Walking Dead. The show had it’s Mid-Season finale and left us with a reunion and a cliffhanger to keep us on our toes until it is back on the air come February 10th. The network will also be giving us something pretty cool to chew on starting on February 14th; an encore presentation of the first and second season of the show broadcast is beautiful black and white- just like the comic the show is based on. AMC previously did this with just the pilot, but it will be pretty awesome to see more episodes in a style that is close to the comic book. Speaking about the comic (spoilers), this past week issue #105 hit stands and sees Carl across enemy lines after confronting Neegan last issue. The official description for the issue is short and to the point, “Sing me a song.” Will Carl live through this?

Cult fan favorite Gillian Anderson will be returning to television after a ten year break. The X-Files star will be joining NBC’s upcoming prequel to the Hannibal series of books for an undetermined amount of episodes. She joins Mads Mikkelsen, who portrays the title character made famous by Anthony Hopkins, and Hugh Dancy who steps in as FBI agent Will Graham, who was expertly portrayed by William Petersen in  Michael Mann’s Manhunter and later by Edward Norton in Brett Ratner’s sub-par Red Dragon. Anderson’s character will get to look into just what makes Hannibal tick as she is described as “Dr. Lecter’s personal psychiatrist” by Bryan Fuller, the creator of the new series. Fuller is the man behind Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies. Most recently he tried to revive/reboot the Munsters with Mockingbird Lane.

After failing hard last year with H8R and more recently having mediocre results with the musical chairs inspired game show Oh Sit! (which was renewed for a second season), The CW is getting back into the reality game with two new shows; The Hunt and Perfect Score. The Hunt is the CW’s attempt at building their own version of Survivor meets The Hunger Games. They describe the show as an “intense wilderness competition” that sees twelve teams of two players facing off in games to test their survival skills and endurance.  The second new show, Perfect Score,is a dating game show that gives players the chance to win cash prizes if they are able to identify their “perfect match”. Neither show has a premiere date. On the narrative side, The CW also has a young Wonder Woman series tentatively titled Amazon in the works as a complement to Arrow. In the very least you need to give props to the Network for keeping their slate fresh and with a lot of variety.

This is it folks, we’ve finally reached the midseason finale of Revolution and I have to say, I never expected the show to be so bland. Everything about the show has felt wrong up to this point. The show, which has been trying to capture a Lost meets The Walking Dead vibe, has not been sitting well with me. It features standout actors from other big shows such as Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) and Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), but has never lived up to its potential set from that wicked first trailer that was released back in May.

I have a few theories about this. First, I think it has something to do with the fact that the series features leads that are way too cleaned up for a show that’s set in a post-apocalyptic (or should I say “power”) world. Everybody looks so clean, especially the group that’s been trekking for the better part of eight or nine episodes. These people just look like they keep hitting showers left and right when we know damn well in the story that they have not. Second, and this is the series’ big problem, who’ll gain the power of the pendants hasn’t been utilized enough and are only teased at a level that reminds me of a teaser from FlashForward and/or The Event. These were two event series that only lasted a season. Finally, the big bad Monroe Republic has been thwarted at every turn by the main group led by Miles Matheson and just cannot get a win. When the British girl died, I felt like the show was willing to take risks, until you realize she died by a non-Monroe army adversary. And that also reminds me, the show is not willing to take any risks. (SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR THE WALKING DEAD) The reason people love The Walking Dead is because it does not give a damn about who it takes the life of — in the comics a baby is killed — and I’m pretty sure that same baby won’t last two seasons of the show.

Now, for all of its downfalls, Revolution is still an entertaining series that is only in its first season, and it is my belief that for this show to succeed it’s going to need a kickass fall finale, or else it’ll lose a ton of viewers. They’ve teased a clash between the two groups and if they don’t meet up until the end of the episode, I’ll be pissed… The downside of this finale is that it’s the last episode of the series to air until late February/Early March so now I have to ask… will that hiatus kill this still promising series? My feeling is it’s going to wound the hell of it.

Episode Description, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”: In the gang’s quest to rescue Danny, the time has come for Miles and Monroe to meet face to face. Meanwhile, on the verge of reuniting with her brother, Charlie is conflicted by a shocking discovery and Rachel tests Monroe’s patience.

8PM

ABC: Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars (reality competition)
CBS: How I Met Your Mother/The Big Bang Theory (comedies)
FOX: Bones (crime drama)
NBC: The Voice (reality competition)
CW: 90210 (drama)
USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)
VH1: Basketball Wives LA (reality)

9PM

ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (reality)
CBS: 2 Broke Girls/Mike & Molly (comedies)
FOX: The Mob Doctor (drama)
CW: Gossip Girl (drama)
A&E: Intervention (reality)
DSC: American Chopper (reality)
TLC: Cake Boss: Next Great Baker (reality competition)

10PM

HIST: Pawn Stars (reality)
ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (reality)
CBS: Hawaii Five-0 (crime drama)
OWN: Dateline on OWN (news showcase)
MTV: Teen Mom 2 (reality)
ID: Disappeared (docu)
Tru: Vegas Strip (reality)

Revolution is slowly moving away from the Lost comparisons and is quickly finding its own voice as it heads into steampunk territory. The idea that people have to go to war with swords, arrows, and muskets in the future is insanely cool and Eric Kripke, JJ Abrams, and the team seem to be crafting a truly original show. The issues that I have with the show, so far, are that the flashbacks are feeling a little too forced and the big mystery is not being executed as well as it could be. Still though, in terms of Monday broadcast drama programming, it is better then Hawaii Five-0. You can check out my thoughts on the pilot by heading over here and if you enjoy the show you’ll be happy to hear that NBC has given the show a full season order. The series stars Billy Burke, David Lyons, Tracy Spiridakos, Elizabeth Mitchell, Zak Orth, Daniella Alonso, and Breaking Bad baddie Giancarlo Esposito.

Official Episode Description, “The Plague Dogs”: Charlie and Nora rescue Miles from the militia before they set off to reunite with Aaron and Maggie. Meanwhile, Nate shadows Charlie and Miles.

The new episode airs tonight on NBC at 10pm. What else can you catch tonight?

8PM

CBS: How I Met Your Mother/Partners (comedies)
ABC: Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars (reality competition)
FOX: Bones (crime drama)
NBC: The Voice (reality competition)
CW: 90210 (drama)
ABCFAM: Switched at Birth (teen drama)
USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)

9PM

A&E: Hoarders (docu)
CBS: 2 Broke Girls/Mike & Molly (comedies)
FOX: The Mob Doctor (crime drama)
CW: Gossip Girl (drama)
TNT: Major Crimes (crime drama)
OXYGN: The Bad Girls Club (reality)
BRAVO: The Real Housewives of NYC (reality)

10PM

ABC: Castle (crime drama)
CBS: Hawaii Five-0 (crime drama)
A&E: Intervention (docu)
HGTV: House Hunters/House Hunters International (docu)
FOOD: Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives/$24 in 24 (food docu)
OWN: Undercover Boss (docu)
MTV: Ridculousness/The Inbetweeners (comedies)

Tonight kicks off the second season of Grimm, NBC’s fairy tale inspired horror/crime drama. The series stars David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt, a Portland police detective who discovered that he was one of the last “Grimms”, a long line of guardians who are charged with keeping the balance between the humans and mysthological creatures such as werewolves and reapers. (season one spoilers) As the first season ended, Nick attempted to tell his wife that he was a Grimm, but before he could she was poisoned and fell into a coma. We were left if a few cliffhangers as Nick was saved by a mysterious woman, who revealed herself to be his mother and Nick’s wife’s eyes snapped open revealing them to be black.

Grimm season 2, episode 1 “Bad Teeth”
Official Episode Description: Nick tries to deal with his mother’s unexpected return as the second season begins. Meanwhile, a foreign plot to hunt down Nick comes to light; Rosalee and Monroe attempt to awaken Juliette from her coma; Hank processes some new information; and Capt. Renard works to reconnect with his estranged brother.

Check out the second season premiere of Grimm at 10pm on NBC. The series stars David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, and Silas Weir Mitchell.

What else is on tonight?

8PM

ABC: Bachelor Pad (reality scum)
CW: Perez Hilton All Access: Lady Gaga (news showcase)
FOX: Hotel Hell (reality)
NBC: Stars Earn Stripes (reality)
ABCFAM: The Secret Life of the American Teenager (drama)
CARTOON: Regular Show (animation)
USA: WWE Monday Night Raw (wrestling)

9PM

FOX: Hell’s Kitchen (reality cooking)
A&E: Intervention (docu)
ABCFAM: Bunheads (drama)
BBC: Top Gear (docu)
BRAVO: The Real Housewives of New York City (reality)
TNT: The Closer (crime drama)
SYFY: Warehouse 13 (supernatural)

10PM

ABC: The Glass House (reality)
A&E: Intervention (docu)
FOOD: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (docu)
HGTV: (10:30PM) House Hunters International (docu)
MTV: Teen Wolf (supernatural)
SYFY: Alphas (sci-fi)
TNT: Major Crimes (crime)

The 4th, previously unknown, Mortal Kombat DLC character has been revealed and it is a pretty interesting choice, non other than horror icon Freddy Krueger. Yeah, I’m not kidding here, the master of nightmares is now a playable character in Mortal Kombat. He joins previously released DLC characters Rain, Kenshi, and Skarlet, all of which have appeared in past Mortal Kombat games in some form or another. Krueger has gotten ready for a kombat by adding a second glove with finger knives. I just hope he has the power to summon a giant snake demon to devour your opponents or a phone to lick them through. Freddy will set you back $4.99 when he is released on August 9th.

It looks like the long awaited Dumb & Dumber sequel (we don’t count the horrid prequel) might happen afterall. A few weeks ago it looked like it was dead in the water after Jim Carrey walked away from the project, but that might not be so according to Carrey’s co-star from the original, Jeff Daniels. Daniels spoke during the TCA panel for his HBO show, The Newsroom, saying “Jim wants to do it. I want to do it. The Farrelly’s want to do it… The Farrellys wanted more work done on it so they got working on it and I think last week they decided to push the shooting of it to next year, possibly because I wasn’t going to move [shooting for] The Newsroom.” The Farrelly brothers have been very hit of miss the past few years, so I’m totally cool with them taking the time to do this project right.

America’s Got “Drama”? Reality competition judge Sharon Osbourne has abruptly quit NBC’s America’s Got Talent and has accused NBC of discrimination against her son Jack and firing him from the upcoming reality series Stars Earn Stripes due to him revealing he has MS. The NBC chairman, Robert Greenblatt, has fired back, saying “Although we did not ask Jack to participate in the competition, we were able to offer him two substantial alternative roles on the show, both of which he declined. This network does not discriminate on any basis.” He also said that “Stars Earn Stripes that requires dangerous water stunts, strenuous physical activity and uses live ammunition- we required all potential participants to undergo medical vetting to ensure that they could safely participate.” That sounds pretty reasonable and I think Sharon might just be overreacting. Without America’s Got Talent, what reality series will she scurry off to next?

Today is the magic day. After years of rumors and a never fading hope from fans, Arrested Development is back in production today! The whole cast, including Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Portia de Rossi, David Cross, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat and Tony Hale, are all expected to return along with the “voice” of the series, Ron Howard. Mitch Hurwitz will once again be providing the words for the Bluth family. All 10 new episodes will be released only on Netflix at some point in 2013 and I can not wait. A big screen Bluth adventure is expected to follow the new season.

First NBC announced a Munsters reboot, Mockingbird Lane, and a Hannibal Lecter prequel named Hannibal, both of which are from Bryan Fuller. Well, now NBC has revealed that they have ordered 10 episodes of a Dracula reboot starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the title role. Official description: “…series introduces Dracula as he arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. There’s only one circumstance that can potentially thwart his plan: Dracula falls hopelessly in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.

DC Comics is getting ready to reveal more of their “New 52” universe’s history in September’s The Phantom Stranger #0. The book promises to reveal new parts of the elaborate backstory of our favorite heroes and villains. The Stranger has appeared already in the “New 52”, in a story in the Free Comic Book Day special. The new series will be written by Dan DiDio with art by Brent Anderson.

Over in Marvel Comics, this week sees the long awaited (at least for me) meeting between Kitty Prde and Colossus. It has been a year since these two ex-love birds have been together since the “Schism” between Cyclops and Wolverine that broke the X-Men in two over a year ago. Be apart of their date today in Wolverine and the X-Men #14.

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is very close to changing from two films into a trilogy of films. Jackson toyed with the idea at Comic Con, maybe getting people ready for the official announcement? It should be interesting how much of the movies will follow JRR Tolkien’s actual book, which was much shorter than the Lord of the Rings books and aimed at kids. The report says that Jackson worked from more than 125 notes that Tolkien was using to rewrite The Hobbit after the success of Lord of the Rings. The whole project is very interesting and I’m sure the success of the first movie will help determine the future of the series.

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It looks like ABC is doing the Daytime shuffle come September as Katie Couric’s new syndicated talk show will take the east coast timeslot that General Hospital has held for as long as I can remember. That will move General to an hour earlier into the current spot of the cancelled talk show, The Revolution, and the spot that was long held by One Life to Live. The shift begins on September 10th. This past week ABC’s last soap took home five Daytime Emmys including Best Drama, Best Lead Actor Anthony Geary, Best Supporting Actor Jonathan Jackson, Best Supporting Actress Nancy Lee Grahn, and Outstanding Directing Team. This news comes off recent news that One Life to Live actress Kassie DePaiva will reprise her role of Blair Cramer on General for the second time since One Life went off the air. Another bit of casting news concerns the hiring of Richard Steinmetz, formerly on Loving, who has been cast as the son of an unknown former character who will have a big upcoming storyline with Sonny.

BJ Novak joins Mindy Kaling and James Spader and will not return as a series regular in a season that is shaping up for a lot of change on The Office. That doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the last of Novak’s Ryan as he is scheduled to make reoccurring appearances in the ninth season of the NBC comedy. Novak of course has been a producer and writer on the series, but it is unknown if he’ll continue writing episodes. He joined Mindy Kaling over on her new show, The Mindy Project, as an executive producer on the pilot, but it does not appear that he will be a regular producer on the project. Returning to The Office next season are co-stars Ed Helms, John Krasinski, and Jenna Fischer who are all in long contract talks that thankfully ended successfully for the show. Catherine Tate has been upgraded to a series regular (here is hoping they continue to make her character a bit more likeable as they started at the end of the eight season). Also interesting to note is that this season will try to launch a Rainn Wilson lead Dwight Schrute spinoff. Will any other Office regulars join him? Maybe Angela Kinsey’s Angela Martin, the mother of his child. We’ll have to wait and see.