Speaking of what they have to say...

Good news today! Twenty-two more chances to fall in love with Friday Night Lights, coming to the small screen near you next fall.

The network up-fronts (when we--the advertisers, actually, but fans too--find out next fall's schedule) are all next week, so lots of renewal news and word on pick-ups of new pilots will be trickling out in the next few days.

Gilmore has been officially canceled already; cause for celebration of the end of an era, in my mind, rather than mourning for the loss. (In fact, we will be celebrating this Tuesday at my house--by eating like a Gilmore (a Lorelai Gilmore, not an Emily Gimore, of course)! There will be tater-tot-topped-frozen-pizza and chicken nugget appetizers . . . and malomars, if I can find them.) After the completely appropriate and satisfying but still utterly sad end of Rory and Logan's relationship last week, I'm ready to say goodbye to the show, and eager to see what projects come next for all involved (particularly Matt Czuchry and Amy Sherman-Palladino).

With Gilmore off the schedule, it sounds like One Tree Hill may actually get a chance at another season--one in which they jump the action forward by 5 or so years. I'm all for it. This week's scene at the prom where the characters all make fun of the melodrama in their lives was priceless. O.C.-style self-aware irony. Love it.

TV Ramblings on a Monday Night

A few random TV thoughts:

• Finally no more Theismann on Sunday OR Monday Night Football. Yippeee! I'll be able to watch football without his inane ramblings to muck up the experience. Jaws is so much easier to listen to, and he usually has something mildly intelligent to say. Maybe they'll even let him have some sort of feature where he breaks down game film. There's nothing better than watching Jaws break down film. (See, I have many geeky tendancies ... they aren't just limited to school and serialized tv!)
• The Discovery Channel's new miniseries Planet Earth is good and worth watching ... if you have a 34 inch or larger HD tv. We watched the first episode last night in HD (which incidentally also means without commercials on Discovery's HD Theater channel) and then another episode tonight on our decidedly low-def TiVo. Even the three-and-a-half year old was more distracted during tonight's low-def episode. In general though, it's absolutely a nature show worth plopping down on the couch and watching with your preschooler. Well produced, well narrated (by Sigourney Weaver), well filmed.
  
• According to the Futon Critic, October Road gets good in the third episode. I'll be watching, but with no fresh Grey's as a lead-in will anyone else be watching?
• We'll be watching 24 in real-time again tonight for the HD viewing experience (and because it's the only thing my husband will agree to watch with me out of the whole week -- although he's starting to get hooked on The Amazing Race, of all things!) . . . but watching 24 this season feels a little bit like a chore to me. Not sure why.
• New episodes of One Tree Hill were advertised initially as returning this week. But the CW, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that re-running episodes of The Next Pussycat Doll (seriously?) sells more ads on Wednesday nights than fresh episodes of OTH, so Lucas, Peyton and friends won't return until the first week in MAY! Methinks this is not a good sign for the prospects of renewal. Gilmore's return was also pushed back, but only one week--meaning that fresh episodes will air throughout sweeps.
  

OTH SOS!

Every year, Kristin Veitch from E! has an on-line campaign to save one show from the network ax. She gives an excellent run-down of which shows are most likely safe, which ones are "on the bubble," and which are likely doomed. Then you get to vote. The campaign has, apparently, had an effect on network execs in the past.

So who to vote for this year? Three shows I love are theoretically on the list as in need of Kristin's life raft. They are, in order of affection: 1) Friday Night Lights, 2) Gilmore Girls, and 3) One Tree Hill. But I voted for One Tree Hill. Why? 1) Because I'm confident that FNL is safe -- the NBC network execs apparently see its virtues and will give it another season to build ratings. 2) Because I'm certain that the fate of GG rests exclusively on whether or not Alexis and Lauren will sign on for another season for an amount that the CW is willing to fork over -- and word on the street is that they won't. And 3) because OTH's show runner Mark Schwahn has announced that, if they get a 5th season, he'll jump the story ahead 5 years so that all the characters will have finished college. This is just plain smart: it allows actors who don't want to come back an easy way to bail out of their characters -- and I have a sneaking suspicion that Sophia Bush might not want to come back to work with her cheating ex-husband Chad Michael Murray. It will also line up the ages of the characters much more closely with the age of the actors who play them. So I voted for OTH.

Who's going to win? I'd guess Veronica Mars may well be able to muster the most votes this year (and oddly enough, show runner Rob Thomas has apparently borrowed Mark Schwahn's plan to jump Veronica ahead 5 years to be an FBI agent if she comes back). The winner will be announced April 13.

Why I Love Sweeps

What a good week in TV! This is a post for true TV geeks like me.

Since last Sunday, there have been some big doings in my favorite fantasy worlds on the small screen. Some of the highlights:

• Emily Gilmore made me cry. The show has been such a disappointment this season, but this episode was perfect. Simply perfect.
  
• Meredith Grey went for an unexpected swim. Yikes. I love that this twist was never leaked on the spoiler sites. (I know, it would be simpler if I just didn't read the spoiler sites, but what fun would that be.)
  
• Lucas Scott has apparently written a novel. I want to read it. How cheesy is that?
• An earthquake has obliterated Orange County. Has any other show ended its run by literally blowing up the set? Oh, maybe 24, but I think they actually began the season by blowing up the set! With only two episodes left, Josh Schwartz and co. are going all out!
  
• After more than 12 weeks with the tension lurking below the surface, this week's episode was the first to really explore the racial issues in Dillon, Texas: a white assistant coach said way more than he should have to a crafty reporter and the black players walked off the field in disgust. It was a great way to get the conflict between Riggins and Smash to come to a head without either of them really doing anything wrong.
• There's a couch on Survivor!? Really?
• And finally, tonight, Kitty and the Senator kissed (and more)... and he's running for president. This show has really hit its stride with great characters and great writing. Plus, I love Rob Lowe. (And the line about him always liking Demi Moore was hilarious! Did anyone else catch that?)