eli stone
Spoilers Anonymous

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have: Big Love, Bones, Desperate Housewives, Eli Stone, Fringe, Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, Prison Break, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Office. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
Giveaway Tuesday: Eli Stone, season one
Another post-Labor Day giveaway! This time we've got three copies of Eli Stone - Season One on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The DVD is available in stores starting today.To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, September 5 simply telling why you'd like to own this set. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Eli Stone season one DVD set.
- The comment must be left before September 5, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Three winners will receive an Eli Stone - The Complete First Season DVD (valued at $39.99).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
Continue on to see an exclusive clip from the DVD ...
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.Wait a second: Honey West is out on DVD?! And it's not even one of those lame "Season 1, Volume 2" deals it's an actual complete series? I never thought this show would come out on DVD (Quark I thought might because of its cult status), but I find myself saying that less and less these days, and that's a good thing.
As for It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, that's not one of my favorite animated holiday specials, but I think I'll get it so I can say I have them all.
- Arthur - Season 11
- Big Bang Theory - Season 1
- Charlie Brown - It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Cheers - Season 10
- Desperate Housewives - Season 4
- Doctor Who - The Invisible Enemy with K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend and The Invasion of Time
- Eli Stone - Season 1
- Faerie Tale Theatre - Complete Series
- Ghost Hunters - Live
- Ghost Whisperer - Season 3
- Honey West - Complete Series
- Life - Season 1
- Little People, Big World - Season 2, Vol. 1
- Living with Ed - Season 2
- The Office - Season 4
- Quark - Complete Series
- Supernatural - Season 3
Can Sigourney Weaver figure out Eli Stone?
There will be some major star power in the new season of Eli Stone. No, I'm not referring to Katie Holmes' stunt casting. I'm talking big-time star wattage. Sigourney Weaver will guest on Eli Stone as a psychologist. Eli, who is in desperate need of figuring out what he's been experiencing is the result of the brain ailment he's suffering from or something else. Since he had brain surgery -- or so we think -- at season's end, will Eli still have the visions? Will he fulfill the imperative to Live Brave and become a leader -- prophet -- or was that not a look at the future but something else?
It's all very mysterious, and just the fact that he's going to see a shrink is positive development. Casting Sigourney Weaver is a positive as well. She's a three-time Oscar nominee and carries with her innate integrity and class.
TV Squad presents the 2008-09 fall schedule
It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.
While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.
TV Obits: Bullock, Powers, Caray, Ackerman, Whitehead
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.- Hiram Bullock: He was a veteran session guitarist probably best known to TV fans as being a guitarist in Paul Shaffer's band during the first couple of years of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. He also played on classic albums by everyone from Billy Joel and Steely Dan to Barbara Streisand and Sting. He died in New York at age 52.
ABC show-runner panel: Heigl, Lost's endpoint, and musical theater - TCA Report

I wanted to wait a bit before I posted about the ABC showrunner panel, because a) I already posted about the "news" from Shonda Rhimes about Katherine Heigl's statements, and b) I wanted to think about why these panels seem to be so much more informative than the individual show panels?
We'll get to that more later. On the panel were Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Silvio Horta (Ugly Betty), Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost), and Greg Berlanti (seemingly the rest of ABC's schedule). As you'd expect, Rhimes got the Heigl questions, Lindelof and Cuse got the most esoteric questions, and Chery made the most jokes. The funniest line, though, came from Horta.
ABC wrap-up: Eli Stone, a DWTSer sings, and Ashton Kutcher hates my question - TCA Report
The remaining panels on ABC's first day were for Eli Stone, the Ashton Kutcher-produced game show Opportunity Knocks, and a panel for the upcoming Country Music Association events on the network. For the latter panel, Julianne Hough, who has twice partnered with the celebrity champion of Dancing with the Stars, sang a few songs from her current country album. Pretty girl. Nice voice. Dancer's body. But that's all I can say about the panel, because I bolted shortly after she was done singing.The Eli Stone panel featured the entire cast along with executive producers Greg Berlanti (who seems to be producing two-thirds of ABC's scripted dramas) and Marc Guggenheim. Surprisingly enough, there was only one question about the presence of Katie Holmes as a guest star this season. The reason why she's there is a shock -- they brought her in to get ratings! Will wonders never cease?
ABC president: We're prioritizing returning shows, and Heigl is staying - TCA Report
After Jimmy Kimmel left the room, ABC Entertainment Steve McPherson got on with the business of facing the press at his executive session. I kicked it off with a question about Scrubs, following up on what Bill Lawrence told me in May about a possible "next generation" ninth season."We do think there's an opportunity after (this eighth season)," said McPherson. "If any or all the cast is a part of that, I think there's a growth (opportunity) there. It's a show that, despite being moved around into like 17 time periods and really never being given the marketing support, has really performed unbelievably well on NBC." He went on to say that they hope "it won't be a one-season situation."
Other than that, most of the conversation revolved around the network's returning shows, which makes sense, since the network is only debuting a few new shows (none of which had pilots that the network thought were suitable for preview) this fall.
Katie Holmes to guest on Eli Stone
Holy crap. Everybody's favorite Scientology war bride, Katie Holmes, has apparently used those perfect chompers of hers to gnaw through her ankle shackles and score an acting gig. Holmes is set to guest star on Eli Stone this fall. Producers are staying mum on any details, but sources say that she is signed up for one episode of the fledgling drama. Holmes got her big break on TV, playing Joey Potter on the uber-popular teen soap Dawson's Creek. She also had a few impressive turns in movies, such as Pieces of April and Thank You for Smoking before meeting Tom Cruise and taking an extended hiatus from the business.
Holmes also gave up her role in the Batman franchise before dipping her toe back into acting waters with the critically panned Mad Money. She is set to film her episode later this month and then spread her wings further by traveling to New York to star in a revival of Arthur Miller's play, All My Sons.
Broadway's Roger Bart lands ABC legal pilot
TV watchers probably know Roger Bart best as George Williams, the murderous pharmacist on Desperate Housewives. On Broadway, he's been a musical dog (Snoopy in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown -- for which he won the Tony award), a sidekick (Carmen Ghia in The Producers) and a scientist (Young Frankenstein). Now, he's slotted for a return to the tube. Roger Bart will star as a lawyer in the untitled David Hemingson dramedy pilot for ABC. The project casts Bart as Cliff, a high-strung attorney in a fancy-schmancy L.A. law firm, where one of the partners is his spouse. Hemingson's pilot is getting a lot of attention, in part because of his pedigree. He's written for How I Met Your Mother, American Dad and Kitchen Confidential. Adding Roger Bart to the mix ups the likelihood of ABC finding a place in the schedule mid-season for this comedy. They start filming next month.
The Excellence in Outsourcing Award nominees
Have you been checking out the best American accents on TV today? TV Squad has selected five fantastic nominees for The Excellence in Outsourcing Award, the television actors who have the best American accents. These five are all non-Americans, naturally, but you would never know it by their performances as good old folks from the United States.So read all about these five worthy candidates and see why they've been selected. Then, check out the poll at the end. That's when you have a job to do. We want to know your top choice from the five nominees we've selected. Please take a moment to answer our poll at the end, casting your ballot for the Reader's Choice award in Excellence in Outsourcing. %Gallery-23786%
The Excellence in Outsourcing Award: Call for considerations
Outsourcing: it's running rampant in America. You know, you call for technical support when your PC is out of whack or you have a problem with a credit card and instead of hearing an American voice on the other end, you're left to chat with Kim in Karachi or Biff in Bangalore. Well, in TV, outsourcing is also taking place. Parts that were once strictly American roles -- requiring a real, colloquial U.S. voice -- are being played by foreigners. The thing is, many of these roles are being brilliantly played by actors donning American accents -- they're doing a great job.
Think about it; some of the best performances on TV feature foreigners with great American accents, like Hugh Laurie on House and Jonny Lee Miller on Eli Stone. Two of Her Majesty's loyal subjects, two wonderful American voices. The Brits are all over the dial.
But did you know that Anthony LaPlaglia (Without A Trace) and Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters) are Australian? It's true. And they're not alone. There are a lot of other actors who were not brought up speaking like typical Americans who sound like they were.
Therefore, you tell us: who are your choices for the best American accents on television right now? Give us your thoughts on who should be nominated for TV Squad's Excellence in Outsourcing Award.
Expect the networks to renew more shows than usual
The reverberations caused by the writers' strike continue to affect how the networks are doing business. Case in point: according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, the networks may be more generous with renewals than they have in the past, due to the fact that even hit shows have been returning to diminished ratings. My guess is that, after a three-month break, most people realized they didn't give two craps about things like Meredith and McDreamy's latest breakup. But it may just be that the weather's nice outside.Anyway, Hibberd goes on to mention the current status of some of the most prominent "bubble" shows. The good news: Reaper, Old Christine, and HIMYM and Moonlight have shifted over towards the "likely to certain" end of the spectrum, and Boston Legal will likely survive for another year. The bad news: Shark, Men In Trees (which is already gone, according to reports), Cashmere Mafia, and October Road are likely gone. And there's still no real feel for what's going to happen with Eli Stone or Women's Murder Club.
David James Elliott cast in mini-series disaster flick
Are you ready for some major disaster film effects? Were you disappointed that there wasn't more destruction when the Golden Gate Bridge broke in half on Eli Stone (I was.) Then you, like me, will be pleased to hear that David James Elliott is starring in a four-hour mini-series called Impact. Producers are promising lots of action and Charlton Heston-like epic disaster. Okay, maybe I added the Charlton Heston adjective, but at $13 million, the guys at Muse Entertainment, Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment and Tandem Communications aren't skimping.Casting David is a plus for starters. The former JAG star has a nice balance of serious and tongue-in-cheek, so hopefully he'll keep Impact from getting too cheesey. The story, however, does have Velveeta potential.
TV Squad Hot Topics
Most Popular Articles
From Our Partners
- 'Futurama': Seth MacFarlane gives voice to Fry's dog
- 'Sesame Street' jail: Children's show introduces first muppet with a parent in prison
- 'Mickey Mouse' reinvented yet again in Disney's new animated shorts
- TV ratings: 'The Voice' finale hangs tough Tuesday opposite NBA Finals
- 'Big Brother 15' twist: 3 people will be nominated for eviction, plus a weekly MVP
- More From Zap2it
- Exclusive Hannibal Video: Alana and Jack Argue Over Will's Mental Health — Is Their Pal a Killer?
- TVLine Items: Liars Lands One Life to Live Vet, Y&R Fave Is Back, Once Return Nixed and More
- Nashville Loses a Key Player for Season 2
- The Veronica Mars Movie: Deputy Leo Is On Duty
- The Soup Investigates First Look: E!'s New Spin-Off Series Takes on The Bachelor
- More From TVLine
