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Question: I'm shocked and delighted by Fox's announcement about bringing back 24, but honestly, I think this points to the future of television. It's the same thing with The Following: Give us shorter seasons, TV Gods! Seriously, 22-episode seasons just don't work for so many shows, especially the serialized ones. How much filler was there in any given 24-episode season of real-time 24? A ton, inevitably. And every other heavily serialized show you can point to is eventually going to fall back on filler episodes, or extended (and frustrating) wheel-spinning, etc. It's just inevitable, and the best serialized shows are the ones that best manage this reality: for instance, The Vampire Diaries splits its season into three or four tightly focused mini-arcs that pack as much into each mini-arc as most shows cover in a whole season.
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[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Elementary's season finale. Read at your own risk!]
Elementary finally unmasked Moriarty, but it probably wasn't who you were expecting.
After reuniting with Irene Alder (Natalie Dormer), whom Moriarty had apparently kept captive, Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) begins to deduce that his former lover might be working with Moriarty, but sadly he was mistaken.
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Given the fanfare with which NBC is closing The Office after nine seasons (at least two too many), you'd think it was a Cheers or Seinfeld-sized hit from the "must-see" glory days, instead of the show that presided over the slow fade of a once-powerful comedy brand on the back of too many same-seeming niche comedies specializing in preciously arch irony. At its best (the Steve Carell and early Jim-Pam years), The Office had heart as well as range, as it found comic magic in its ensemble once the show emerged from the large shadow cast by the classic Ricky Gervais original series. But now it just hits the same beats over and over to lesser effect, which hasn't stopped NBC from pulling out the stops. The celebration (eulogy?) begins with an hour-long behind-the-scenes retrospective (Thursday, 8/7c) produced by NBC News — which didn't have more pressing business? — featuring interviews from cast members and producers. The main event is a super-sized finale (9/8c) that has swelled to an hour and 15 minutes, staged as a mock reunion of the Dunder Mifflin gang several months after the airing of the mock documentary that took nearly a decade to finish.
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Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com or tweet them to @adam_bryant or @NatalieAbrams.
Got any scoop about Callie and Arizona for the Grey's Anatomy finale? — Sam
NATALIE: When the dreaded "talk" does happen...
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Scandal hit a series high Thursday with its reveal of the mole.
The drama drew 8.9 million viewers and a 3.2 in the adults 18-to-49 demographic, up six-tenths from last week. Lead-in Grey's Anatomy (8.6 million, 2.9) was down ...
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