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It was January 2007, and I was about to give up hope. It was six years since 20th Century Fox called, asking if we were interested in doing another X-Files feature film. Five years since the television series went off the air. And four years since cr
Q: After reading the latest bloodbath of anti-Boston Legal comments, I feel I must come to its immense defence. I must admit last season was far from its strongest year, thanks largely to dumping the previous season's stronger supporting cast and rep
Q: I was wondering, given the fact that many of last season's shows did not come back after the writers' strike, will the networks be rerunning some of these shows in August and September as a sort of refresher before series begin to premiere in the
Q: [Spoiler Alert] I'm guessing I'm not the first to ask you about this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on Act III of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. My feelings are very mixed. While the twist ending led to some engrossing pathos (
It takes real cojones to call a powerful producer a fathead while auditioning for a TV series. That's just what Mary McCormack did to Steven Bochco when he was casting Murder One back in 1994. "Steven was making fun of my pretentious head shot, and I
Q: I have a really burning question to ask you about the Emmy nominations and Mad Men. Can you tell us what is going through HBO's mind right now?. Why in the world did HBO pass on Mad Men so flippantly when they were given first crack at it? And ar
Q: I just wanted to let you know that, like you, I am also waiting for a Farscape movie. I think Farscape would translate brilliantly to the big screen. I haven't lost hope, but, like you, I am not holding my breath. Heck, I am still waiting for news
Q: So I just read that Friday Night Lights would pick up eight months from where it left off. I want to know whether some of the open storylines will be tied up. Will they address Jason Street's baby issue or Smash Williams' race war issue? Will anyt
Q: Isn't the obvious (and unspoken, at least in your column) explanation for Boston Legal's continued Emmy success that the show's hyperliberal fantasy world ? in which Alan Shore can harangue conservative Justices seemingly incapable of rebutting hi
Cybill Shepherd talks about her role on Psych (Fridays at 10 pm/ET, USA), her decision to remain un-Botoxed and being haunted by Elvis.TV Guide: We're impressed, Cybill: After 40 years in the biz and at 58, you're still working like a madwoman. There
Q: I didn't watch Mad Men when it was first broadcast, but with the accolades and great press the show has been receiving, I decided to watch all first season episodes on DVD. I was pleasantly suprised by my enjoyment of the show, as I'm ususally not
Q: I have been spending the summer watching reruns of my favorite guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl. I'm a fan of high-school TV dramas, but they always run into storyline problems when the kids graduate and head to various colleges (i.e., Dawson's Creek,
Q: I read your recent Dispatch in which you mentioned screening the premiere episode of CSI's ninth season. I know you are not at liberty to speak of the details, but I would really like to hear more of your opinion on the episode. Was it as good as
Molly Parker likes playing pioneering women. On the mean streets of Deadwood (circa 1876), she was headstrong Alma Garret, and now on Swingtown (circa 1976), she's open-minded suburbanite Susan Miller. Parker talked with us about the buzz surrounding
As part of this year's Television Critics Association press tour, TVGuide.com was invited to tour the set of AMC's Mad Men, escorted by several cast members. We were sternly warned to "not touch or take anything," as much research, effort and care ha
Project Runway (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET, Bravo) has certainly had its share of colorful characters ? and inspired creations ? over the past four seasons. So which of the reality hit's wannabe designers have found a pattern for success? We checked in wi
With the housing market such a mess, we hit up neat-freak real-estate guru Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET, Bravo) for his top tips on how to sell your home without, well, flipping out.1. "Pricing is everything. [List] your home 5 pe
Not since the days of Dr. Will have Big Brother fans seen a truly ambitious mastermind pulling strings in the house. Big Brother 10's Brian Hart was up to such a challenge, but unfortunately he pulled too many strings way too fast, proudly making dea
Q: Something has been weighing on me regarding the Emmys ignoring The Wire in years past, but the most recent nominations just confirmed in my eyes. I can't help but compare the treatment of Mad Men to that of The Wire. I love Mad Men, and now that T
Q: What are the chances that Swingtown will survive after this summer run? I know the ratings haven't been stellar, but surely CBS realizes it's pulling in a demo like few other shows on the network. I, for one, don't watch any other CBS show beside
Q: Brothers & Sisters has seen its fair share of drama and tragedy over the last two seasons, but the one place they have yet to go is the death of one of the Walker children. Given that Balthazar Getty is getting his fair share of bad press lately (
Q: I read the news that William Petersen will cut back his time at CSI and won't be on air as much through the end of the series. Yet as I read the online reactions, I was surprised the news was taken as Petersen is gone when he isn't. He is just cut
Q: As I looked at the Emmy nominations, the title of your recent Dispatch kept running through my head: They did get our hopes up again. I'm thrilled that Mad Men got several key nominations, that Lost was nominated for best drama, that Michael Emer
Q: I see that Smash and Jason Street will be in just a few episodes of this season of Friday Night Lights. I know that for the show to progress realistically, the characters must move on. The show can't keep bouncing back and forth between Smash in c
Q: Remember back at the 1999 Emmy awards, when the year's most critically acclaimed cable series lost the Outstanding Drama Series trophy to a David E. Kelley legal series? Well, brace yourself, because nine years later, it's going to happen again. T
Q: Okay, I officially give up. Please explain the Emmy fascination with Boston Legal. Not that it's a terrible show, but Best Drama every single year when shows like The Wire are ignored? Please, I need an explanation, and I am counting on you to del
Q: OK, I just had to say this. The Wire ? in my opinion the greatest television series that has ever aired ? has received a total (a total!) of two Emmy nominations in its history. One for writing in 2005 and one for writing this year. Meanwhile, A&E
Q: I was thinking, with the new season of Project Runway upon us, why have Runway and Top Chef been such big hits, while Bravo's other reality contest shows, Shear Genius and Step It Up & Dance, are such stinkers? Is it the production values, or the
Q: I read that the actress Maggie Siff, who plays Rachel on Mad Men, is going to be on the new show Sons of Anarchy. Rachel is my second favorite character on Mad Men. Her character was different than the other women on the show: She runs her own bus
Q: I see that FX will bid adieu to Nip/Tuck in 2011 because they fear otherwise it would lose "creative steam." Um ? allowing a show to go for three more years (specifically, a ridiculously whopping 41 more episodes) even though it became almost unwa
Q: Do you have any info on Steven Bochco's new show for TNT? I'm a big fan of his, and after his last few tries, he's due for another hit. All I know so far is that Gloria Reuben is in the cast (yay!), and it seems to be about a group of lawyers. Sho
In 2006, Dulé Hill leapt from the gravity of The West Wing to the giddiness of Psych (Fridays at 10 pm/ET, USA). Season 3 opens with Cybill Shepherd joining the fun as Shawn?s mom. You don?t need to be a fake psychic to predict this season?s going to
Q: My goodness, Matt! Someone e-mails and whines about the dearth of programming on the CW, saying they hate teen dramas, and you don't even mention that Supernatural is on the CW? What the heck does that show have to do to get mentioned? The person
Q: What the heck is going on with FX? It's usually one of the best cable networks for summer television, but it seems the writers' strike has set them off course. I was first disappointed when the final season of the amazing show The Shield was pushe
Q: Any news on ABC's absolutely riveting Hopkins series extending its run? This is just pure quality and definitely needs more than a six-week season. Any chance of it becoming a "regular"? A: I've heard nothing about an expanded series. But given th
Q: Luckily for those of us who do not live on planet Charles or critic-land, NCIS does exist for those of us who do enjoy the show. I have to wonder if Charles even watches NCIS. There have been plenty of "life-changing" character experiences on this
Q: What exactly is going on with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? I have heard that they are canceling it and moving it to USA ? are these just complete rumors, or is there some truth to it? Also, what do you think about Burn Notice? A: I think you
Q: Longtime reader of your columns, but this is my first time writing. I read your review of NBC's Fear Itself and have to agree with you ? somewhat. The first episodes were nothing great (I may have liked them a little more than you), but I kept wat
Q: I just read your Dispatch regarding HBO's summer session with the critics at the TCA press tour. HBO has long been a place where I could consistently find cutting-edge, quality series programming as a welcome diversion from the cookie-cutter, "see
It's been a busy year for Poppy Montgomery. The Without a Trace star became a mom on screen and off, welcoming son Jackson on December 23 and giving birth to a son on the drama's season finale in May. "I feel really lucky," Montgomery says. "I love m
Mad Men smokes. That?s an understatement. ?Two packs a day, but you?re cutting down,? a doctor mocks leading man of mystery Don Draper (the quietly brilliant Jon Hamm) in one of the opening scenes of the long-awaited Season 2.Mad Men also sizzles, si
Q: I am so tired of the CW's new obsession with "frenemy"-based teen "dramas." When I heard the WB was merging with UPN to become the CW, I was wary but thought it could work out (yay, Veronica Mars!). Two years later, I feel as if my parents gave aw
Q: I was disappointed after JAG shut down after 10 years, but NCIS has been a very satisfying successor. I am wondering if the writers or producers have ever thought about bringing some of the old JAG characters into some of the future NCIS stories.
Trying to save the world is a dirty job, but Brian Austin Green is up to it. He talks about his Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles costars, his famously sexy fiancée and dealing with his 90210 past ? just don't call him David Silver. (Sarah Conn
Q: I'm sure I'm one of the many people overjoyed to find Mary McDonnell on Emmy's Best Actress short list ? finally! ? although it's a great shame Edward James Olmos was missing. "Faith" was an outstanding Battlestar Galactica episode and I think the
Q: Love you, love the column, love that you prove that good writers can cover TV. One of my other favorite TV people gave The Cleaner a pretty incredible review, and I wanted to know what you thought. If it's half as good as this review, it sounds li
Q: I was excited to see Kathryn Joosten make the unofficial Top 10 for the Emmys' best guest actress category. I think she was brilliant on Desperate Housewives this season, especially in the last pre-strike episode. Her delivery of Ida's eulogy was
Q: A while back, somebody wrote to ask why critics talk so much about low-rated shows instead of hits like NCIS. I think the simple answer is that the low-rated shows are more interesting. On NCIS, you always know that Gibbs will bully Tony and Tony
Q: I have a sneaking suspicion that the jump into the future on Desperate Housewives will turn out to be very successful for the show, because it enables the writers to focus on a new "mystery arc" without bringing in a bunch of new characters we don
Q: Just a little rant I feel I need to share. Though I know it has gone down in ratings, American Gladiators is not a bad show. I certainly understand people putting down many of the crazy reality shows and game shows you don't even need a brain or b
Q: Looking at the CBS schedule for the next few weeks, I am glad The Big Bang Theory is getting an extra showing at 9:30 pm/ET after Two and a Half Men in addition to its regular Monday at 8 slot. It is simply the funniest show in quite some time, an
Q: You mentioned recently that MyNetworkTV was created to fill the void created by former UPN and WB affiliates who didn't sign up with the CW, and that "even a test pattern would be preferable" to what they run. I have a better idea: Why does there
Q: I hate to be one of those reactionary TV viewers who judges something before they've seen it, but I am very worried about the changes in store for Project Runway next fall. This is a show that is absolutely perfect as is. Yet due to the Weinsteins
Q: I so enjoy your insights! There are several shows I have tried, and fallen in love with, because you brought them to my attention (Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies and The Wire come to mind). From time to time you, receive letters about the death of f
Q: The writer who recently lamented the dearth of black comedies on TV reminded me of something I thought of while watching a rerun of Doctor Who on PBS: how this and other British shows seem to regularly include far more minority actors than U.S. sh
Q: I have been an avid watcher of So You Think You Can Dance since Season 2 and I'm also a former dancer. Until now, I felt the show was very straightforward and fair. Now it has become so obviously rigged and ridiculous, I am shouting at the TV and
Q: Over the past month, I have had some time off and spent it watching all of the seasons of The Wire. I don't think I will ever be able to watch network TV the same way I used to. The Wire is a masterpiece and makes a show like House, which is overl
Q: I know TV Guide doesn't really cover U.K. TV as it airs there, but in the case of the run-up to the current season finale of Doctor Who, it might be something to note. [Spoiler alert] Last weekend, the fourth season of Doctor Who's new incarnation
Q: As soon as I decided to watch The Middleman and said, "Hey, this is surprisingly smart and really good," I went to your section of TVGuide.com thinking you might have mentioned it. And I was delighted to see that it was actually the subject of a R
Q: Love your work for TV Guide and have read your stuff religiously dating back to USA Today. Small question in the grand landscape of television: What the heck is going on with Million Dollar Password? The show is a hit and started off with some str
Q: I appreciate the fact that you addressed the reader's question about the lack of minority sitcoms. No, The Cleveland Show does not count. It's a cartoon voiced by a white man, written by a white man. Don't get me wrong ? Seth MacFarlane and his wr
Q: Considering all the complaints I see in your column about the lack of good shows during this summer season, I feel the need to point out the best show that no one's watching: Death Note, on Adult Swim. I realize that anime isn't everyone's cup of
With the most recent installment of ABC's The Bachelorette ending in success, we've got to wonder: Why is it that The Bachelor seasons are 0-for-12 when it comes to resulting in marriage, and only 2-for-12 for couples who at least remained together?
She's known around the world for her laugh, but Mary Murphy's raucous antics belie an intensity of focus and passion that's easily missed behind her hollering. The So You Think You Can Dance judge is watching the show's hopefuls even more closely tha
?It?s really pretty country out here,? says a marine, admiring the view during a mission in Iraq. ?Except for the mortars,? cracks a reporter along for the harrowing ride.War is never pretty, whether presented with the unflinching immediacy of journa
What happens when eight journalists are picked to live in a house for 12 hours with no cell phones, Blackberries or contact with their news desks? Well, let me give you a hint ? it wasn't pretty! I'm not what you would consider a homebody. However, I
Q: What has happened to the black sitcom? There are no black comedies on the fall schedule on any of the major networks. There are only two that I know of still running on regular television: Everybody Hates Chris and The Game on the CW. Both have be
Q: I totally agreed with almost everything you said about the 10 drama nominations, especially the remark about Boston Legal, but I don't see how you can prefer Mad Men and Lost over The Wire. You also said that you could make an argument for the 10
Q: I'm loving the facts that Mad Men might actually get an Emmy nomination and Jeff Goldblum will be joining Law & Order: Criminal Intent. But while updating my personal TV grid with the latest schedule updates, several random thoughts went through m
Q: Have you seen Flashpoint yet? The promos make it look surprisingly un-terrible, and I don't need much more of an excuse to watch something starring the great Enrico Colantoni. A: I've seen the pilot episode (premiering this Friday), and while cal
Q: In regards to Desperate Housewives' jump five years into the future, do you think the producers were inspired by One Tree Hill, which already flashed forward four years into the future this past season? A: I feel reasonably confident in saying th
Q: From what I've read in your column, fans of Swingtown are taking this show much too seriously. I have really tried to get into the show, being that I was 16 at the timin that era. Instead of being a fun show, it just seems creepy and a little weir
Q: While browsing the listings, I was pleasantly surprised to find that ABC has started repeating Eli Stone. Of course, it's on Saturdays after The Wonderful World of Disney, so it's not exactly in a spot where it will be anything more than filler. B
Q: Just as I was about to hit "send" on an email to your Ask Matt column asking what you thought about Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, I got a MySpace Bulletin from the Dr. Horrible page heralding your Dispatch. Thanks for doing a review! Not only to
Q: Given the fact that you spent a good six years reviewing Sex and the City the TV series, I was curious to hear what your thoughts were on Sex and the City: The Movie. Seems to me, you ? and not necessarily the TV Guide movie critics ? would've be
Q: I have a quick question for you regarding the 10 series finalists for this year's Emmys. It seems to me that HBO always manages to get acknowledged (even when I feel they shouldn't). The fact that Flight Of the Conchords made it over the other com
New Dexter costar Jimmy Smits serves as host of A Capitol Fourth (tonight at 8 pm/ET, PBS), the annual holiday bash from Washington, D.C. The fireworks are provided by Jerry Lee Lewis, Huey Lewis and the News, Taylor Hicks and, of course, the firewor
With The Wackness, writer/director Jonathan Levine has emerged as one of the first, few voices of that generation sandwiched between X and Y: The one that had Biggie and De La, Tribe and the Wu as its own soundtrack. Set in the throbbing, sultry New
Antonio Sabato Jr. has quite the juggling act going on these days, balancing his derring-do as a Celebrity Circus performer (Wednesdays at 10 pm/ET, on NBC) with his return to Port Charles by way of SOAPnet's General Hospital: Night Shift. Sabato sha
Molly Ringwald tackles a new kind of Brat Pack in the ABC Family drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which premieres tonight at 8 pm/ET on ABC Family.There's a Republican in the White House. Skinny jeans are in. Molly Ringwald is starring
Q: I just wanted to get your opinion on the absolutely terrible summer TV we have this year. Besides Criminal Intent and Weeds, I find myself unable to think about the next two months without sobbing or wanting to blow myself away. American Gladiator
Q: I will always love TV, and even though I complain, I do like a lot of the modern shows. (I'm especially excited about Mad Men's return this summer and Dirty Sexy Money this fall.) But what about reruns of old shows? I could usually run to TV Land
Q: My question is in regard to the upcoming Emmy nominations. Even though every year I am disappointed with the Emmy nominations, I can't help but get excited for them. My question has to do with what shows are eligible for the Emmys this year and ho
Q: After reading your June 20 letter about the cancellation/possible pick-up of Angel ? sorry, I mean Moonlight ? and then this week's Save Jericho Again commercial on Discovery, I have to ask: Don't you think enough is enough? And has Jericho's seco
Q: I just heard the nominations for the TCA awards, and I have to say, I'm smiling ear to ear. Though I'm not really familiar with TCA's history or past nominations, I'm very pleased with all of the nominations for outstanding dramas, comedies and ne
Q: I realize that being a TV critic puts you in a unique situation. If you were a book or a movie critic, you would be reviewing a final project that never changes ? you can watch The Love Guru 10 times and it will still be what it was the first time
Q: I just wanted to thank you for being blunt but honest about the odds of Moonlight being renewed. The fandom has kind of gone nuts, and it feels like people are being lied to and fed false information to boost the egos of a few fans who get off on
Q: I was just reading a list of the overall TV ratings for the last season and was surprised because it doesn't correlate with what I thought were "hits." For example, Gossip Girl has had lots of buzz but was way at the bottom of the list, not even h
Q: Since Fox is now the king of prime time, finishing first among the networks in 2007-2008 viewership, how long will it be before the network adds that elusive third hour of programming a night? With so many solid series (House, Bones, American Idol
Q: After reading a recent article about the possibility of the CW shutting down next year, I was wondering what your take on the result of the WB/UPN merger is. At the time, WB and UPN promised to forge a new identity with the CW, and that less compe
Soup's on! Joel McHale has picked the year's best clips from his series that celebrates TV at its most embarrassing and packed them into four The Soup Presents specials airing Monday nights at 10/pm ET through July 21. We asked the funnyman to give u
Q: I've been a fan of the original Password, and so when CBS decided to air a new edition with Regis Philbin (who I think is one of the best game show hosts from his days on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire), I was pretty excited. The first few episodes
Watching Vincent D'Onofrio's Det. Robert Goren on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Sundays at 9 pm/ET, USA) is a deliciously unsettling experience. We love the awkward mannerisms, the halting yet penetrating speech, the craned neck bend he performs when
Q: This may not be your field, but I was very curious about the Emmy eligibility of In Treatment. Into what category would the exceptional actresses and actors playing Gabriel Byrne's patients fall? Supporting Actor/Actress? Guest Actor/Actress? Due
Q: I watched Masterpiece Mystery! last night and it is no longer Inspector Morse, but Robbie and his new sidekick. What is the sidekick's name, the one who was a theology student at Cambridge? I have seen him in other British shows and he is very com
Q: As a teacher of history, I found myself reading your review of the CBS show Swingtown with much disbelief. There are many of us who are nostalgic for the 1970s and see quite a lot of good in an overly maligned era. Granted, I am fully aware of the
Did you hear the one about the compulsive-gambling TV writer who ventures to Vegas (of all temptations!) to rescue the hooker with a heart of gold? Sneaking into theaters this weekend, Finding Amanda stars Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick, a
Q: I read Mark's comments in the last Ask Matt about the USA Network cross-promotion of In Plain Sight on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and while it was a pretty cheesy cross-promotion, I felt it was harmless. Plus, every Dick Wolf show has done this
Q: Welcome back from your vacation. I have missed your column while you were away. I know you're not really into spoilers, but I was just wondering whether you have viewed J.J. Abrams' Fringe yet. I watched the pilot today, and I just wanted to hear
Q: In reference to your recent comments about Swingtown, Sunday nights after Cold Case would be the ideal time in the CBS sked for Swingtown. Honestly, with its constant use of period music, clothing and styles of its characters and all around decor,
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