Heroes Archives - TV Breakroom

Monday Madness: Favorite Hero/Villain Duo

This Monday Madness, vote for your favorite hero/villain duos! The hero of any TV show, whether comic-book-based, sitcom, or procedural drama, always faces opposition in the pursuit of his/her goals. Often, that opposition comes from the people around our hero. But sometimes, one opposing person stands out from the crowd. They may be a twisted version of our hero, or just amazing at being evil. But you can be sure that an epic battle (of wits, weapons, or fisticuffs) is about to begin!

The pairs below are some of the more popular hero/villain duos, along with several nominated by readers of this blog. Which are your favorites? Go forth and vote!

Also, this poll is not as limited as previous ones – feel free to include older shows and villains who aren’t around for very long – just be sure to nominate ones that make an impression!

The winners of last week’s poll are here.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 5 of your favorite TV hero/villain duos. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will win!

I had a hard time coming up with duos for this list, and I know there are many more epic heroes and villains out there! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment, and if I receive several nominations, I may add them to the poll! Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Stay tuned – I have something special in mind for the rest of April and May!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 12AM April 7th.

Which is your favorite TV hero/villain duo? (Choose up to 5!)

Elena Gilbert vs. Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries) (11%, 38 Votes)
Sherlock Holmes vs. Jim Moriarty (Sherlock) (9%, 32 Votes)
The Doctor vs. the Master (Doctor Who) (8%, 29 Votes)
Emma Swan vs. Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) (7%, 25 Votes)
Steve McGarrett vs. Wo Fat (Hawaii Five-O) (6%, 20 Votes)
Nick Burkhardt vs. Adalind Schade (Grimm) (5%, 16 Votes)
Sheldon Cooper vs. Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Theory) (4%, 15 Votes)
Dr. Horrible vs. Captain Hammer (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) (3%, 12 Votes)
Col. Robert Hogan vs. Col. Wilhelm Klink (Hogan's Heroes) (3%, 12 Votes)
Will Schuester vs. Sue Sylvester (Glee) (3%, 11 Votes)
Temperance Brennan vs. Christopher Pelant (Bones) (3%, 11 Votes)
Richard Castle vs. 3XK (Castle) (3%, 10 Votes)
Merlin vs. Morgana (Merlin) (3%, 10 Votes)
Patrick Jane vs. Red John (The Mentalist) (3%, 10 Votes)
Agent Phil Coulson vs. the Clairvoyant (Agents of SHIELD) (3%, 10 Votes)
Luke Danes vs. Taylor Doose (Gilmore Girls) (3%, 9 Votes)
Robin Hood vs. the Sheriff of Nottingham (BBC Robin Hood) (3%, 9 Votes)
Chuck Bartowski vs. Daniel Shaw (Chuck) (3%, 9 Votes)
Buffy Summers vs. Glory (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (2%, 8 Votes)
Nikita vs. Amanda (Nikita) (2%, 7 Votes)
Harold Finch vs. Root (Person of Interest) (2%, 6 Votes)
Veronica Mars vs. Sheriff Lamb (Veronica Mars) (1%, 5 Votes)
Sydney Bristow vs. Arvin Sloane (Alias) (1%, 5 Votes)
John Bates vs. Thomas Barrow (Downton Abbey) (1%, 4 Votes)
Annie Walker vs. Henry Wilcox (Covert Affairs) (1%, 4 Votes)
Alice vs. Jafar (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) (1%, 4 Votes)
Agent G. Callen vs. Marcel Janvier (NCIS: Los Angeles) (1%, 4 Votes)
Jane Rizzoli vs. Charles Hoyt (Rizzoli & Isles) (1%, 3 Votes)
Claire vs. Sylar (Heroes) (1%, 3 Votes)
Michael Westen vs. Anson Fullerton (Burn Notice) (1%, 3 Votes)
Dr. Lee Rosen vs. Stanton Parrish (Alphas) (1%, 3 Votes)
Tessa Altman vs. Dalia Royce (Suburgatory) (1%, 2 Votes)
Dr. Gregory House vs. Michael Tritter (House) (1%, 2 Votes)
Ryan Hardy vs. Joe Carroll (The Following) (1%, 2 Votes)
Vince Farraday vs. Peter Fleming (The Cape) (0%, 1 Votes)
Jessica Pearson vs. Daniel Hardman (Suits) (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 125

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Monday Madness: Favorite TV Brothers

ABC’s new drama Mind Games premieres this week (Tuesday, February 25, at 10/9c on ABC), and since the show focuses on two brothers, our poll this week features TV brothers! First, here’s the logline for Mind Games:

Centers on the complicated relationship between the Edwards brothers: Clark, a bipolar genius in human psychology, and Ross, a slick ex-con, who solve their clients’ problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation.

It features one of my favorite comedic actors, Steve Zahn, so I can’t wait to check it out!

I didn’t realize until I started putting together this poll that it would pit some of the most popular fandoms against each other! (Sherlock, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, etc.) I only included more recent shows (hence the absence of The Brady Bunch boys), and included both half- and step-brothers (but not brothers-in-law).

I also did not include brothers when one of them is only in a handful of episodes. For example, Seeley Booth’s brother Jared is only in 5 episodes. I’d planned to include Michael Westen and his brother Nate, until I realized Nate was only in 15 episodes out of 111. My general rule of thumb was going with brothers who had both/all been in at least 1/3 of the episodes. Be sure to keep that in mind with any nominations!

The winner of last week’s poll, by a landslide, was Battlestar Galactica!

This poll will be open for ~~one week~~ two weeks, and you can choose up to 5 of your favorite TV brother duos (or trios). Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!

Even though there are many options on this list, I know there are shows I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment, and if I receive several nominations, I may add them to the poll! Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 12AM March ~~3rd~~ 10th.

Who are your favorite TV brothers? (Choose up to 5!)

Dean and Sam Winchester (Supernatural) (19%, 25 Votes)
Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock) (15%, 20 Votes)
Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson (The Originals and The Vampire Diaries) (10%, 13 Votes)
Damon and Stefan Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries) (8%, 11 Votes)
Pete, Derrick, and Randy Hill (Enlisted) (5%, 7 Votes)
Don and Charlie Eppes (Numb3rs) (5%, 6 Votes)
Peter and Nathan Petrelli (Heroes) (5%, 6 Votes)
Frankie and Tommy Rizzoli (Rizzoli and Isles) (5%, 6 Votes)
Ben and Danny Wheeler (Baby Daddy) (5%, 6 Votes)
Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows (Prison Break) (5%, 6 Votes)
Francis and Sebastian (Reign) (4%, 5 Votes)
Lucas and Nathan Scott (One Tree Hill) (3%, 4 Votes)
Reggie Jackson and Dick Butkus (The Neighbors) (2%, 3 Votes)
Gob, Michael, and Buster Bluth (Arrested Development) (2%, 3 Votes)
Earl and Randy Hickey (My Name is Earl) (2%, 3 Votes)
Danny and Jamie Reagan (Blue Bloods) (2%, 3 Votes)
Adam and Crosby Braverman (Parenthood) (2%, 2 Votes)
Tim and Billy Riggins (Friday Night Lights) (2%, 2 Votes)
Jack and Declan Porter (Revenge) (1%, 1 Votes)
Tommy, Kevin and Justin Walker (Brothers & Sisters) (1%, 1 Votes)
Ethan and Dan Whitehorse (The Lying Game) (0%, 0 Votes)
Silas and Shane Botwin (Weeds) (0%, 0 Votes)
Chuck Bass and Eric van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) (0%, 0 Votes)
Hank and Evan Lawson (Royal Pains) (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 50

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The CW Picks Up Tomorrow People, The 100, Star-Crossed, and Reign, Renews Nikita and The Carrie Diaries

The CW announced series orders for four pilots today, for a total of five new shows (including The Vampire Diaries’ spinoff The Originals) to debut in the 2013-2014 season. The Carrie Diaries was renewed, as well as Nikita, for a shortened season.

Which of these shows will I watch next season? If I have time and the trailers look good, I’ll probably try to check out the pilots for all four new shows. I still need to catch up on The Vampire Diaries to watch the planted pilot for The Originals, but I’m leaning toward not watching the spinoff. Nikita I will watch till the end, and I probably would have at least given a shot to The Carrie Diaries (especially since it includes Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman) if I had more time when it started airing.

Tomorrow People has an impressive line-up of executive producers (from Chuck, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, and Nikita) and features genre favorite Mark Pellegrino as well as Robbie Amell (Arrow’s Stephen Amell’s cousin – who will play a character named Stephen). People around the world gaining superpowers isn’t new (see Heroes, Alphas, and more), but can be excellent if done right.

Star-Crossed (formerly Oxygen) has a human girl falling in love with an alien boy after he and 8 other alien teens are integrated into a high school ten years after their people landed on Earth. I’m not familiar with many of the actors, so I’m counting on previews to tell me why this intriguing premise is must-see TV.

The 100 refers to a group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to a nuclear-war-ravaged Earth to see if it’s habitable again. The cast includes a few actors I know from their reoccurring guest spots on other shows. It’s based on an upcoming book series – which I think would be a dream come true: being able to write such a great novel that it’s made into a TV show before it even releases.

Reign focuses on 15-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, and her closest friends, three of her ladies-in-waiting, amid the secrets of the French court. I usually don’t watch historical shows, but I may give this one a try as it stars Megan Follows (aka Anne Shirley) and Anna Popplewell (aka Queen Susan of Narnia).

Gone are the days of the CW being the teen girl channel. Nearly all of their scripted programming now has a supernatural/sci-fi/action hero bent (4 out of 5 new programs, 5 out of 7 renewed programs), and the remaining ones have distinctive settings (deep South, 80s New York, 16th century France). And out of their 12 scripted shows for next year, I am currently watching four, want to catch up with Supernatural, would have given The Carrie Diaries a try, and will probably watch all five new pilots. That leaves the lone show I care nothing about, Hart of Dixie (ironic since my last name is also Hart), of which I watched the pilot. I didn’t expect to like it, though, since medical shows I like are few and Southern accents bug me.

So next fall, the CW may go from my least-watched channel (the first show I watched was Nikita when it premiered) to the channel with the highest concentration of shows I watch. And with so many genre shows, perhaps it’s more deserving of the Syfy name than the Syfy channel itself!

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News: How I Met Your Mother Gets 9th Season, Leverage Canceled, Psych Gets Shortened 8th Season

Both good news and bad news popped on the radar last night. For the good, How I Met Your Mother was renewed for a ninth season! Jason Segel had decided to not to do another season, but at the last moment he changed his mind. I’m kind of hoping the show reveals the mother at the end of this season, and we get to see her and Ted’s relationship in the ninth season, but who knows what the show’s creators have up their sleeves?

Sad news for Leverage fans, though – the show has been canceled, and Christmas Day’s season five finale will be the series finale. Executive producer Dean Devlin had stated that they “decided to end this season with the episode we had planned to make to end the series, way back when we shot the pilot. So, the episode that will air on Christmas is, in fact, the series finale we had always envisioned.” Leverage’s “The Ho Ho Ho Job” is currently winning our poll for favorite Christmas episode. While I still love the show, I have to admit that a few of the later episodes haven’t been as compelling (though the finale looks like it’s going to be awesome!). I’ll be kind of sad if the show ends without us finding out Sophie’s real name, or without Eliot finding someone (poor dude has been the odd man out now that Nate and Sophie and Hardison and Parker are together). And I look forward to seeing where the actors end up next year!

Also renewed – Psych! It’s been given a season 8 before season 7 has even begun to air. It’s only an 8-episode season, though (a shorter season sometimes indicates a final season, but they haven’t stated it’s the final one). That may be to get the show on a different schedule, as what used to be a summer show was pushed back to a fall, and now a late winter, start.

Other news: the final main actor (Chloe Bennet) for the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot has been cast, and she’s another newbie to the Whedonverse, making Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson) the only Whedonverse actor to have a regular role in the show. Speaking of the ‘Verse, Jewel Staite’s show The L.A. Complex has been canceled by the CW (it was previously canceled on its original Canadian broadcast channel, but it’s dismal US ratings made it unlikely to be saved by the CW).

The CW seems to be moving away from glitz and glamour and toward grittier drama with an archery bent (and who wouldn’t, after Arrow’s success?). The network has just ordered a script for Sherwood, a period drama about a noblewoman who joins up with Robin Hood and his merry men as she tries to find and free her serf boyfriend.

On the network’s Beauty and the Beast, Sendhil Ramamurthy (Covert Affairs, Heroes) will reoccur as an ambitious assistant district attorney determined to find the vigilante (aka Vincent) who’s been stalking the streets.

AMC has renewed The Walking Dead for season 4 (big surprise), but Glen Mazzara is stepping down as showrunner.

Brian Klugman is joining Bones as a new squintern, as some of that weird, brillant group will possibly depart for other projects.

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Gone Too Soon – TV Shows That Never Should’ve Been Canceled

Guest post by Andy Johnson. If you would like to submit your own guest post, please contact me.

Some TV shows were taken from us before their time. In a respectful act of tribute, we share our top picks for TV shows that were cancelled prematurely, leaving us longing for more.

“Heroes”

After four seasons, NBC pulled the plug on this revolutionary show that seemed poised to take primetime viewing in an entirely new direction. The first season introduced us to ordinary people who discover they have super powers, including an indestructible cheerleader and one of the best super villains ever. The show captured the attention of a staggering 17 million viewers in the first season, but a steady decline in viewership, and a writers’ strike-induced eroding storyline, eventually led to the show’s demise. However, “Heroes” was poised to make a comeback and NBC should have given it at least one more season to go out the way it came in.

“My Own Worst Enemy”

“My Own Worst Enemy” had a smart, witty premise that also packed quite a punch. Christian Slater played the dual roles of regular suburban hubby and dad Henry Spivey, who was really a deadly secret agent called Edward Albright – except good, ol’ Henry had no idea about his double life. The twist was a first episode glitch that caused the worlds to collide, leaving Henry in some sticky situations he had no idea how to survive. The idea was fresh, the writing was good, the actors were entertaining and engaging (Alfre Woodard and Taylor Lautner also starred) – what gives? This show got its pink slip after only nine episodes, hardly long enough in our minds, and the 5.2 million viewers who got pulled in by the mind-control espionage spy games would agree.

“Pushing Daisies”

This delightfully imaginative show looked like nothing else on primetime. The characters, writing and intelligent, fast-paced, quirky humor matched the beautiful artistry of the show’s presentation. Ned the Piemaker barely got started using his ability to bring the dead back to life before ABC put “Pushing Daisies” on the chopping block. Once again, ratings and the unfortunate interference of the writers’ strike were blamed for the show’s early passing. Fans protested that the network didn’t give the show the proper promotional push to gain an audience that could appreciate the clever premise and artistic fantasy world of what may be the most original and visually satisfying show to air in decades.

“Reaper”

This show, about a slacker firstborn son promised to the devil in exchange for his father’s life, short-changed not only the ruler of the underworld but all the fans of this comic drama during its two-season run. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that a smart, original show like “Reaper” couldn’t survive on a network like the CW that tends more toward teen and young adult soap operas like “Gossip Girl” and “The Vampire Diaries,” but it still hurts. Perhaps the show was misplaced and that’s why it couldn’t gain the traction needed to endure, despite being well-received at Comic-Con and heroic attempts to keep the series alive as part of the Sci-Fi channel’s reboot as Syfy. Regardless, the show left viewers hanging and should have been given the chance to reap souls for another season or two.

“Arrested Development”

Anyone who ever caught even part of an episode of this sitcom knows that the cancellation of “Arrested Development” was one of the biggest TV travesties of all time. And people haven’t stopped talking about it since it happened in 2006. That alone has to say something about this in-your-face show about a dysfunctional family chasing the American dream. The show’s demise came on the heels of much critical acclaim and less regular viewership. It seems, however, that cutting this cult hit down in its prime prompted rumors that another season might be making an appearance on Netflix, but no one has confirmed this. [Katie: It has been confirmed – filming started this fall, with plans for a spring 2013 release.]

What other TV shows do you think got canceled too soon?

Andy has lived in several different areas of the United States, but always calls Utah home. He wrote articles for a local paper about outdoor recreation with pets before joining the USDish team in 2010. When he is not watching outdoor adventure programs on Animal Planet, The History Channel, or The National Geographic Channel, Andy can be found hiking in the red rock deserts of the Southwest.

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Supernatural – Home

Okay, I’d heard this was a good episode, and it was one of the better ones I’ve seen so far, but as it ended I felt rather ambivalent. What, really, has changed?

This episode, thanks to one of Sam’s prescient dreams, takes the brothers back to Kansas, where a mother and her two young children have just moved into the boys’ childhood home. Early creepy indications include scratching noises and the sighting of a figure wreathed in flames.

Dean and Sam make some inquiries around town and finally meet with a no-nonsense female psychic who knew their father. Missouri’s presence in the episode shows again how hard it is to connect to a show when there are only two main characters. She made a good addition to the team for the episode, and made me wish for a consistent third character to liven up the relationship dynamics.

Okay, after watching this episode and the Heroes pilot, I am going to have a lifelong fear of garbage disposals. The monkey with the cymbals was pretty clichéd, though.

I figured out early on that flame-figure was Mary Winchester, thanks to coming across spoilers while verifying facts for polls. So that part of the episode didn’t have the impact on me that it could have. And seeing Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s name in the credits let me know that good ol’ dad would be showing up at some point – unfortunately it was in a closing scene with Missouri, so no family reunion just yet. Plus his excuse for not seeing his sons seems incredibly lame. There’d better be a good reason for why seeking this “truth” is keeping him apart from his sons when it didn’t for the first 20 years after the fire. Especially after Dean’s phone call to him, which was some of the best acting I’ve seen on this show so far, by Jensen Ackles or anyone else.

And so Dean and Sam faced their fears, went back home, and saved the day – but what do they have to show for it? Yeah, it was cool that they saw their mom, but a) they already knew she was dead, and b) they already were pretty sure she loved them. It’s interesting that we as viewers now know that John Winchester isn’t locked in some hell dimension, but his sons don’t know. So as far as I can see, nothing changes. Maybe I’m just too used to Joss Whedon shows, but after a pivotal episode like that, isn’t something (even if it’s a tiny shift in a relationship or a new fear a character will have to overcome) supposed to be different?

Well, there is the fact that now Dean knows about Sam’s dreams. Would have been nice to touch on that near the end. But I guess I’ll have to see if this episode has much of an impact on later ones.

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Syfy Developing ‘Clandestine’ Space Drama – Deadline.com

Syfy’s heading to space! The network is developing this drama by actor/writer Todd Stashwick (who’s guested in everything from Buffy and Angel to Burn Notice and Leverage) and artist Dennis Calero, who met on Heroes and later created an online comic.

Clandestine is described as a swash-buckling space drama/adventure and revolves around mercenaries who masquerade as part of an Intergalactic fleet.

Syfy Developing ‘Clandestine’ Space Drama – Deadline.com.

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Castle Casts Jack Coleman — Season 5 – TVLine

Jack Coleman is getting a promotion. The Heroes vet previously reoccurred on The Office as Angela’s boyfriend/husband, a state senator. On Castle, he’ll play a US Senator who comes in conflict with Beckett. Who’s guessing he ties in to her mother’s murder?

Castle Casts Jack Coleman — Season 5 – TVLine.

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Monday Madness: Favorite TV Villain

This Monday Madness, as nominated by Kathy Manno, we’re looking at TV villains! Some of these villains are pure evil, while others have a redeemable side and eventually begin working with the good guys – but please vote for them as a villain, not a hero! Some of these villains are so evil they can keep you awake at night, while others are so hilarious in their villainy that you almost want them to win.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite TV villains. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Get creative!

Even though there are 50-some options on this list, I know there are dozens of TV villains I left out! You can nominate villains I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (villains from live-action scripted shows only, please).

Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter or like TV Breakroom on Facebook, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Please help out with nominations! There are only so many shows I can watch personally, so I’m counting on you to fill me in!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM June 25th.

Who is your favorite TV villain? (Choose up to 10!)

Crowley (Mark Sheppard) - Supernatural (8%, 630 Votes)
Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) - Sherlock (7%, 572 Votes)
Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) - Supernatural (6%, 535 Votes)
Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) - Once Upon a Time (5%, 382 Votes)
Regina Mills/Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) - Once Upon a Time (4%, 353 Votes)
Spike (James Marsters) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (4%, 344 Votes)
Alastair (Christopher Heyerdahl) - Supernatural (4%, 316 Votes)
Azazel (Fredric Lehne) - Supernatural (4%, 309 Votes)
Dick Roman (James Patrick Stuart) - Supernatural (4%, 306 Votes)
The Master (John Simm) - Doctor Who (3%, 229 Votes)
Angelus (David Boreanaz) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (3%, 227 Votes)
Matthew Keller (Ross McCall) - White Collar (3%, 223 Votes)
Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin) - NCIS (3%, 215 Votes)
Drusilla (Juliet Landau) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (2%, 202 Votes)
Phil Constantino (Timothy Omundson) - Jericho (2%, 169 Votes)
Sylar (Zachary Quinto) - Heroes (2%, 151 Votes)
Mr. Yang (Ally Sheedy) - Psych (2%, 146 Votes)
Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) - The Vampire Diaries (2%, 138 Votes)
Cole Turner (Julian McMahon) - Charmed (2%, 133 Votes)
Jim Sterling (Mark Sheppard) - Leverage (1%, 125 Votes)
Klaus (Joseph Morgan) - The Vampire Diaries (1%, 123 Votes)
Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) - Lost (1%, 122 Votes)
Glory (Clare Kramer) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1%, 120 Votes)
Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) - Glee (1%, 116 Votes)
The Smoking Man (William B. Davis) - X-Files (1%, 112 Votes)
George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell) - Criminal Minds (1%, 108 Votes)
The Gravedigger (Diedre Lovejoy) - Bones (1%, 103 Votes)
Mayor Wilkins (Harry Groener) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1%, 103 Votes)
Lindsey McDonald (Christian Kane) - Angel (1%, 103 Votes)
Anson Fullerton (Jere Burns) - Burn Notice (1%, 100 Votes)
Lionel Luthor (John Glover) - Smallville (1%, 90 Votes)
Red John - The Mentalist (1%, 86 Votes)
Russell Edgington (Denis O'Hare) - True Blood (1%, 80 Votes)
Katherine Pierce (Nina Dobrev) - The Vampire Diaries (1%, 80 Votes)
H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray) - Warehouse 13 (1%, 75 Votes)
Gormogon (Laurence Todd Rosenthal) - Bones (1%, 71 Votes)
The First - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1%, 55 Votes)
J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) - Dallas (1%, 54 Votes)
Alexei Volkoff (Timothy Dalton) - Chuck (1%, 51 Votes)
Number Six (Tricia Helfer) - Battlestar Galactica (1%, 49 Votes)
Carla (Tricia Helfer) - Burn Notice (1%, 49 Votes)
Sheriff of Nottingham (Keith Allen) - Robin Hood (1%, 47 Votes)
Anna (Morena Baccarin) - V (1%, 43 Votes)
Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh) - Chuck (1%, 43 Votes)
Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) - Suits (1%, 42 Votes)
The Chameleon (Christopher Lambert) NCIS: Los Angeles (1%, 42 Votes)
Jasmine (Gina Torres) - Angel (0%, 41 Votes)
Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) - The Dukes of Hazzard (0%, 41 Votes)
Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe) - Revenge (0%, 39 Votes)
Nina Meyers (Sarah Clarke) - 24 (0%, 38 Votes)
Adalind Schade (Claire Coffee) - Grimm (0%, 37 Votes)
Marie Barone (Doris Roberts) - Everybody Loves Raymond (0%, 37 Votes)
Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) - Heroes (0%, 37 Votes)
Elias (Enrico Colantoni) - Person of Interest (0%, 35 Votes)
Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) - The X-Files (0%, 34 Votes)
Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) - True Blood (0%, 32 Votes)
James MacPherson (Roger Rees) - Warehouse 13 (0%, 31 Votes)
Siobhan Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar) - Ringer (0%, 31 Votes)
Amanda (Melinda Clarke) - Nikita (0%, 29 Votes)
Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (0%, 27 Votes)
Percy (Xander Berkeley) - Nikita (0%, 21 Votes)
Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen) - Beverly Hills, 90210 (0%, 20 Votes)
Herrick (Jason Watkins) - Being Human (UK) (0%, 16 Votes)
Benny (Belita Moreno) - George Lopez (0%, 16 Votes)
Daniel Holtz (Keith Szarabajka) - Angel (0%, 15 Votes)
Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (0%, 12 Votes)
Roan (Rob Stewart) - Nikita (0%, 9 Votes)
Roy Biggins (David Schramm) - Wings (0%, 8 Votes)
Peter Fleming (James Frain) - The Cape (0%, 7 Votes)
Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (0%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,112

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Keck’s Exclusives: Heroes Star Breaks Up Office Romance – Today’s News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

Who knew that Jai from Covert Affairs would be the perfect match for The Office’s Kelly? Of course I know it’s just actor Sendhil Ramamurthy guesting on The Office, but it’s fun to imagine.

Keck’s Exclusives: Heroes Star Breaks Up Office Romance – Today’s News: Our Take | TVGuide.com.

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Superhero TV Episodes

Yesterday’s episode of Castle was chock-full of geeky comic book superheroness. So today I thought I’d blog about those costume-clad episodes of TV shows we love. If I missed any, be sure to let me know in the comments!

For space, I’m not going to focus on the shows that are all about superheroes – whether reimaged comic classics (Smallville), new characters in ordinary clothes with various powers (No Ordinary Family, Alphas, Heroes), or masked vigilantes (The Cape). And I wasn’t going to mention Halloween episodes – but I couldn’t resist the few ones that popped into my head: Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard all dressing up as Flash (The Big Bang Theory). Abed becoming Batman (Community). And Brennan as Wonder Woman (Bones).

Castle – “Heroes and Villains”

A man attacking a woman gets sliced in half by a sword, and the team soon discovers it’s the work of a costumed vigilante. They’re a bit reluctant to go after someone who’s administering justice throughout the city, but things are not as they seem. The costume is from a character in a popular online-only comic (which I thought was a nice plug for a newer medium for comic books). Castle gets plenty of opportunities to geek out during the episode, and even Beckett shares what superhero she would be (Electra, to Castle’s Bruce Wayne), mentions the first comic book she bought, and is embarrassed to have revealed that she pre-ordered Castle’s Derrick Storm graphic novel. (Wow, this is the fourth season, and I just now made the connection that Rick Castle named his character DerRICK.)

Warehouse 13 – “Mild Mannered”

Sean Maher and Jewel Staite (Simon and Kaylee from Firefly) star in this episode where an artifact gives its wearer superpowers. Pete recognizes the costume as mimicking the Iron Shadow, one of his favorite superheroes, and generally revels in the comic-book aspect of this mission. He’s still waiting to receive his comic book collection from home, which may have gotten lost during shipping, but Myka surprises him with the rare Iron Shadow issue he’s missing.

Bones – “The Superhero in the Alley”

For some reason, when I heard about the Castle superhero episode, I thought they’d already done one. I think it was this episode I was remembering instead. Booth and Brennan try to figure out how a costumed teenager died, and Angela reconstructs the unfinished comic book found with him. Despite his geekish tendencies, Zack had never read comic books before, but he makes up for it in this episode. It’s interesting that several scenes from this season take place in a bowling alley, and the last episode that has aired to date was mostly set in a bowling alley as well.

Psych – “Shawn vs. the Red Phantom”

This episode goes beyond comic books to a full-blown convention. Shawn and Gus track a missing teenage boy there only to find he has disappeared as well. Clues point them to website reviews of superhero movies and eventually a villainous plot ripped right from the pages of a comic book. My favorite part of the episode is when Shawn turns his fake psychic powers in a show to get attendees’ attention, complete with help from Gus’s “magic head.”

Any other shows you can think of that have a superhero episode?

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Alphas – Pilot

I watched the pilot of this show based on three things:

1. Its basic premise. Though many are claiming it’s a ripoff of Heroes or X-Men, I never got into either of those so it doesn’t matter to me. I did see similarities to Fantastic Four and the movie Push – but when you have people with superpowers teaming up, it’s hard to find new ground.

2. Camy Tang liked the pilot and recommended it on GetGlue.

3. The show stars Ryan Cartwright (who played Vincent Nigel-Murray on Bones. I miss his British accent, though!).

I enjoyed the pilot. While it didn’t scream at me to watch the next episode, it intrigued me enough that I probably will. The guy in charge of the team (Dr. Rosen) is played by David Strathaim, who reminds me a bit of Dustin Hoffman. Azita Ghanizada has appeared in quite a few of the shows I watch (NCIS: Los Angeles, Castle, Psych, How I Met Your Mother, Veronica Mars, and Bones) and Laura Mennell has an impressive list of speculative appearances. And while I didn’t recognize him, it was fun to find out that Malik Yoba played Yul Brenner on Cool Runnings (18 long years ago).

One of the things I really liked about the pilot was the side effects/drawbacks the powers had. The guy with super-strength can only use it for about 5 minutes. The girl with enhanced senses has to block out her other four while magnifying the one.

The visual effects throughout the episode were fun to watch most of the time. The characters were distinct, and had a good blend of camaraderie and conflict. While the dialogue didn’t strike me as exceptional or witty, it wasn’t bland and there were a few humorous moments that held promise for future episodes.

One of the reasons I’m not anxious for the next episode is that the pilot tells a complete story. In a way I’m glad, as it seems Hulu won’t be getting more episodes for a while and I’m not sure I’ll be trying to find it elsewhere in the meantime (so many shows, so little time). But part of me thinks they missed a great opportunity for a good hook. It fits if every episode is going to be pretty much self-contained, but I would much rather see an overarching story. The ending of Hicks (Warren Christie) joining the team had pretty much been established by promo pics. However, many of my favorite shows have self-contained pilots, so that won’t hold me back from continuing to watch the show.

I just hope they’ll have a bunch of fun guest stars to spice things up.

Added note: I wrote this post before this article was posted, which has details on geeky guest stars (including the awesome Summer Glau) AND discussion on episodes being self-contained. I feel a bit psychic.

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Veronica Mars – Complex and Sassy

Wow. I’m just five episodes into this show, and already it’s blowing me away.

I first remember hearing about Veronica Mars on TVLine’s renewal scorecard page. The very first paragraph read:

TV’s queasy season has arrived. From now until late May, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW will determine which shows will be back next fall and which will be join Tru Calling, Heroes and Veronica Mars over at the MIA Network. (MIA is fictional people; stop scouring your on-screen channel guide now.)

I bookmarked the page and checked back frequently for updates (maybe once a week at first, but eventually every day around April and early May). I knew Tru Calling starred Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Echo from Dollhouse), and I had the first few seasons of Heroes (watched the pilot, but the hand down the garbage disposal still makes me grimace and has deterred further watching), but I had no clue what Veronica Mars was.

The show popped up on my radar a few other times over the past months. I noticed it on the resume of several Whedonverse alums, particularly Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia on Buffy and Angel) and Alyson Hannigan (Willow on Buffy and Lily on How I Met Your Mother).

But it wasn’t until I read somewhere that the humor and dialogue on the show was very similar to Buffy that I knew I had to try it out. I had just completed my goal of watching every episode of every Joss Whedon show, and I needed something to fill that particularly quirky niche. And I was delighted to find out that Netflix had all three seasons of Veronica Mars on watch instantly.

The sassy nature of the show captured my interest immediately. But then the show continued to unfold new layers, and I knew I’d stumbled across something special.

On the surface, it’s a show about a saucy blonde going to high school in southern California (ditto for Buffy).

On an episodic level, Veronica’s dad is a private investigator, she helps him out with cases, and she finds some of her own (modern take on Nancy Drew).

Then the show delves into her character backstory. Less than a year before the show’s start, Veronica was dating Duncan Kane and was a part of his group of friends. Now she’s forced to keep seeing them at school, and they alternately ignore or belittle her. This ties into the show’s theme song, “We Used to be Friends.”

And then we find out Duncan’s sister Lilly, Veronica’s best friend, was murdered the previous October. At the time, Veronica’s father was sheriff, and pursued Duncan and Lily’s father as his chief suspect. Mr. Kane – rich, powerful, and beloved in the community – told the media and Keith Mars was ousted as sheriff. Veronica’s mom left town.

If that wasn’t enough, we find out that things don’t add up with Lilly’s murder. And Veronica’s mother may have had an ulterior motive for leaving town.

And this is only five episodes into the show!

Kristen Bell does an excellent job playing the various facets of Veronica. She can switch from pensive to spunky to flirty and back again easily. And while Veronica has plenty of Buffy-like sass, she also has Willow’s brains. Percy Daggs III plays Wallace, a Xander-like companion I hope the writers will give more to do in future episodes. Teddy Dunn plays the brooding Duncan Kane well, and keeps reminding me of a young Shane West.

I have a feeling I’m going to be upset about this show’s cancellation.

Side Note: While trying to figure out what to call this show’s genre (if anyone has other suggestions than my choice of “mystery” feel free to mention them!), I came across this quote from Joss Whedon about Veronica Mars:

My peeps and I just finished a crazed Veronica Marsathon, and I can no longer restrain myself. Best. Show. Ever. Seriously, I’ve never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn’t making, and maybe even more than those. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion, I mean BIG, and charsimatic actors and I was just DYING from the mystery and the relationships and PAIN, this show knows from pain and no, I don’t care, laugh all you want, I had to share this. These guys know what they’re doing on a level that intimidates me. It’s the Harry Potter of shows. There. I said it.

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