J.J. Abrams' highly anticipated spy show, 'Undercovers,' has claimed its first cast member.

The Hollywood Reporter brings news that Gerald McRaney has accepted the mission offered to him by NBC. 'Undercovers' will chronicle the adventures of a husband-and-wife spy team, and McRaney will play their boss, a CIA operative who recruited the couple.

J.J. Abrams, a man chemically designed to create television shows, has another pilot in the works and this one will star veteran TV actor Gerald McRaney.

He's been picked for a pilot called Undercovers, a spy action show described as a cross between Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity.

McRaney will play a CIA boss overseeing a husband and wife spy couple. Abrams wrote the pilot with TV scribe Josh Reims who's also written scripts for ABC's Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money. Abrams may also step in the director's chair for the pilot episode commissioned by NBC.

The modern poster-child for a show that's "gone too soon" is Jericho. The impassioned fans buried CBS under a ton of nuts, which got the show renewed for a shortened second season. Your mileage of the quality of that season may vary, but the fact remains that the fans did something none of these internet campaigns today will be able to.

What people don't realize is that when Jericho came back for the second run, the ratings weren't any better than when the first season ended. So when they cancel your favorite show and you start mailing in bizarre objects and setting up your web petitions because "it worked for Jericho," remember that the networks remember Jericho as well. They remember that it failed to find a sizable audience twice.

You know, it's been so long since I've seen the last episode of Deadwood that I'll have to go back and watch it again to prepare for the two movies that will end the western saga. I think the last scene showed Gerald McRaney on his way out of town, probably heading to Jericho, Kansas.

But there's no rush. According to this story at the Chicago Tribune, not only are the two movies not going to air until 2008 at the earliest, but (according to cast member W. Earl Brown), the stars of the show haven't even signed contracts to appear in the TV flicks. But creator David Milch said a couple of months that he is "committed" to finishing the movies.

(S01E16) I love any show that starts with someone burying a dead body. I especially liked the metaphor that Hawkins was digging his own hole deeper and deeper with every lie he tells. It's clear that he will have to share his secrets with the town very soon.

This episode had so much action in the first ten minutes that I was hooked right away. Just when I think I've had enough of the end of the world, Jericho reels me back in.

I especially liked all the technical information I learned by watching this episode. Whether it's building a windmill, delivering a baby or "negotiating" a contract, there was plenty to be learned.

(S01E07) So, it's Halloween in Jericho. You would think that every person would be scared enough already with, you know, the world possibly coming to an end, especially after Gray makes it back into town with the news that Washington, D.C. is no more. But nope, there seems to be quite a celebration, with all the kids in costumes and plenty of candy to go around.

But Jonah is also coming to town, and he wants to get Mitch out of jail.

CBS has been heavily promoting this new drama (if you watched The U.S. Open, it was teased approximately 2000 times), and we gave our quick first impressions several weeks ago, but here's a little more about the show.

Basically, it's The Day After: The TV Show. A loner (Skeet Ulrich) goes back to his small hometown in Kansas, just to stay for the day, to finish some business, when some sort of nuclear (?) explosion happens in the distance, perhaps Denver. The town is completely cut off from the outside world. They can't communicate with anyone. But what worries is that one of the kids in the town was talking to his parents on the phone when the blast occurred. They were in Atlanta, and a blast happened there too. Or did it?

For some reason I never watched Simon & Simon. Oh, I saw the crossover with Magnum, P.I., and it seems like the type of show I'd like, but for some reason I never paid much attention to it in the 80s. I guess I was too busy watching something else at the time, and keeping track of Magnum, Riptide, Moonlighting, and other private eye shows.

But now I can buy the DVDs this September ( and yes, and so can you!). The first season set will have 13 episodes, and since it's Universal the extras will probably be shoddy or non-existent. Still, I love it when these 80s shows come to DVD. I'm still waiting for more.