Lots of newsy goodness

I was away from my computer all day at a symposium on crime and violence, so I've got some catching up to do.

First, the Jericho series finale was Tuesday night. The ending was obviously rushed, as they had to condense an entire season into 7 episodes, and tie up as many loose ends as they could, but I think they did a good job. We have the specter of civil war ahead, which could make for a potential season 3 if by some miracle they get picked up on cable, but there's also the satisfaction of knowing that they saved the town and exposed the conspiracy and we can all assume the good guys win the war and everybody lives happily ever afterish. Besides, Jake and Hawkins are made of awesome, and that's really all that matters. Plus - surprise appearance by George Mason! (That's the guy from 24, played by Xander Berkeley... the only person I've ever heard called "Xander" in real life.) It was cool seeing him again, even if it was only a brief role and he shot awesome Hawkins.

Now I'm catching up on Battlestar Galactica before season 4 starts on April 4th. I have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of the whole settling-on-a-planet thing - I felt like it threw a lot of things out of whack, and I'm really glad everyone's back in space. If you want to catch up, there will be two TV specials this Friday night on Sci-Fi, and for the truly dedicated, there's also a marathon all next week, leading up to the premiere.

Speaking of BSG, Helo is gonna be on Dollhouse! Cool beans. Don't really know who the rest of those people are, although I think I saw Fran Kranz in a movie once. He was playing a bad actor, though, so it's hard to judge his actual ability. Still waiting to hear about those Buffy alums...

How many pilots can Rob Thomas make? Well, at least three, apparently. This one is another remake, of a New Zealand show called "Outrageous Fortune."

I'm super excited that one of my fave guys is coming back to Heroes next season, but if you're afraid of spoilers, don't read the article. I'm also a tad concerned about TWELVE new characters. Um, didn't we learn our lesson with the Mexican wonder twins? Unless they're only being introduced so that Sylar can kill them. That is acceptable.

In what I think will be my final reference to the Paley Festival, you can read recaps of the Dirty Sexy Money and Damages panels.

And in the "random" category, some genealogist has figured out which celebrities are related to the Presidential candidates. Hmm... I wonder if I'M distantly related to Brad Pitt, too...