Just shelve 'The Hobbit' already

With the news that Guillermo Del Toro has dropped out of directing "The Hobbit," my question is should they just put a bullet in this movie and call it a day.

I'm not saying this because I'm not a "Lord of the Rings" fan, I'm saying this because this film has had an endless amount of delays and issues.

First and foremost, the rights are owned by MGM in conjunction with New Line Cinema. MGM is currently for sale and deeply in debt to the tune of $3.7 billion. The studio's troubles have already delayed the next James Bond film. Now, MGM claims its troubles have not had an effect on "Hobbit's" production, though I find that hard to believe.

From day one there have been production and casting delays, which tells me that this film is not ready to become a reality. While Del Toro was a perfect choice for a fantasy film of this magnitude, the list of directors who can take on a project like this is very short.

Producer and co-writer Peter Jackson would be ideal, but he has other projects he's already committed to, so he can't direct. Other names thrown out include Tim Burton, Alfonso Cuaron, Sam Raimi and Sam Mendes.

Most fans seem dead set against Burton and he usually likes to control his own vision. Raimi certainly knows how to do a big budget studio project and can do fantasy, so he is a viable choice. Cuaron has the same unique style as Del Toro and has experience with big budget fantasy, so his name will also be on the short list. Mendes is known more for seious character driven drama, so this would be way out of his comfort zone.

There is also the added pressure that the film would constantly be compared to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which is an unreasonable burden to place on any film.

To me, all this adds up to the conclusion that "The Hobbit" should be shelved unitl they can get everything just right.

The death of Gary Coleman

We normally don't go into news like this here at Inscaped, but I wanted to make what I consider to be a good point.

Granted, Stephanie would be the first to say "Why is Tim doing this? He doesn't have heart." But, this is something that goes beyond my cyborg-ness.

Gary Coleman had a troubled life.

Obviously.

Things we consider problems in our normal lives are insignificant to what he dealt with.

Health issues, career woes and even money being stolen from him by his parents.

It seemed like Coleman could never catch a break.

Now to my point. Sometimes I think that it's not sad that he died because he's in a better place where all of those problems that followed him his entire life are gone.

Rest in peace has never meant more than it does today with Coleman.

The end of 'American Idol' as we know it

Last night's "American Idol" finale provided very little suspense as Lee Dewyze was crowned the winner of season 10.

The hilarity of "Idol's" finale is that it essentially takes what is a five minute announcement, that could be done lottery style in between shows, and somehow stretches it into a two hour show.

The show opened with an extremely awkward version of "School's Out" with Alice Cooper showing up towards the end.

It's always funny when the Idols are forced to do choreography.

After a few so-so performances by Kris Allen and The Bee Gees, a real singer hit the stage when Carrie Underwood performed her latest hit "Undo It."


As Ryan said, it seems impossible that it was only five years ago that she won the competition that catapulted her to superstardom.

She was easily the best performer of the night.

As awesome as Carrie was, she did not receive the biggest ovation the night. That honor belonged to Bret Michaels, who just a month removed from a brain hemorrhage and a week after a stroke, showed up to sing the Poison classic "Every Rose Has a Thorn" with contestant Casey James.


Michaels seems to have a new lease on life and is enjoying a career regeneration.

Speaking of career regeneration, Janet Jackson made an appearance and performed her new single "Nothing" and her classic "Nasty."

Jackson also sported a new short haircut and seemed more like the classic Janet from the "Control" and "Rhythm Nation" days.

Perhaps the best moment of the night came when all the former winners (minus David Cook, who was at a charity event) got together on stage to sing a tribute to Simon Cowell. They were then joined on stage by a slew of former contestants.

Even Paula Abdul showed up to help salute the man who is responsible for most of "Idol's" success.

Finally it was time for the big reveal, not that anyone cared at this point. Ryan gathered Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox on stage and "dimmed the lights."

While Lee could barely pull himself together, Crystal seemed at peace in the moment, it was almost as if she knew what was coming.

When Lee was announced as the winner, I sensed a bit of relief from Crystal. Without the pressure of being the winner she can make the kind of music she wants to without the "Idol" machine's interference.

So now that season nine is in the books, it's time for them to start thinking about season ten and all the massive changes they need to make to stay relevant.

Fall television schedule

Say hello to my spreadsheet version of the fall television schedule!

Click on the photo to view the entire sheet in a new page.

'Lost:' Instant reactions

Now that the final episode of "Lost" has aired, we can exhale and give a few instant reactions.

Obviously we'll discuss the show in depth on "Inscaped," but this is just a teaser to what we will be discussing.

While I enjoyed the sentimentality of the episode, there were still a lot of mysteries left unsolved. And though I didn't expect it to answer all my questions, it was clear the producers had no idea where they were going early on.

The last two seasons felt disconnected to the rest of the show and you could almost split the show up into programs.

New episode up...

Network upfronts: The CW

The network is only four years old, but they have put together probably their strongest fall schedule yet with already top rated, hit shows and two new series that so far, have been getting great reviews from the press on Twitter.

Dawn Ostroff, the President of Entertainment kicked off the press conference in announcing that "Gossip Girl" has been outplayed by "The Vampire Diaries" and the CW's new No. 1 series. If only I could tell you how much Twitter exploded after that announcement. "TVD" fans were elated!

Introducing two new series this fall, Ostroff says, "...we have the goods once again with 'Nikita' and 'Hellcats', two shows that are fun, fast and loud, and will enable us to make noise in the marketplace this fall. These hot new dramas will extend the CW brand and our hold on the coveted young female demographic." Which I definitely believe is true.

"Nikita" will be a "Burn Notice" for girls that stars Maggie Q and Shane West. A spy working for a secret government agency turns against her employers and will stop at nothing to bring them down. This series will be paired with "The Vampire Diaries" on Thursday nights, which I believe will be the best night for the CW next year. Whether the network pushes the advertising for "Nikita" very hard or not, it won't matter. It will have high viewer ratings simply because it is running with "The Vampire Diaries", which will no longer have "Survivor" to compete with anymore. There is a very good possibility that the ratings for "The Vampire Diaries" will go up next year with only "Bones" to compete with at 8 pm.

"Hellcats" I'm not so sure about. Starring Ashley Tisdale, who is a pre-law student who joins the famous cheerleading squad at her southern University. Haven't we seen this a million times already? And Ashley Tisdale? Really? I have a feeling that is going to be more like a mix of "Bring It On" and "90210" that we really don't need to see. However, it will be paired with "America's Next Top Model" on Wednesday nights this fall.

Disregarding my thoughts on their new series, I do believe what they are pairing together Monday through Friday is fairly genius. Monday nights with be the West vs. East Coasts with "90210" and "Gossip Girl". Moved to a new night, "One Tree Hill" will air before the sophomore season of "Life Unexpected" on Tuesdays. And Friday belongs to the CW veterans, "Supernatural" and "Smallville". The network has also annouced that the rumors are true. The next season of "Smallville" will be the last. However, Tom Welling did promise that "the show will go out with a bang." We'll have to see about that.

And although it is almost worth it to not mention it, I must. The network will also be airing two new reality shows, one of which will be airing this summer, "Plain Jane."

Network upfronts: CBS

While the other networks were touting the new shows or explaining why other shows were canceled, CBS threw everyone for a loop in a different direction.

The mantra of CBS this year must be "Change is good," because almost every night of the week was shook up.

The biggest shock was "Survivor" being moved from Thursdays at 8 p.m. to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. "Survivor" is the king of Thursdays at 8 p.m. so moving it to another night basically guarantees a win.

That is bad news for the other networks with shows like "Undercovers," "Lie to Me" and "The Middle."

In its place comedies "The Big Bang Theory" and new show "Sh*t my Dad Says" will now go head to head with NBC comedies "Community" and "30 Rock." This is going to end up being horrible for one of those networks. Stephanie just said that she likes both, but "Community" is "her show" and hence her choice.

Another shocker was ratings winner "CSI: Miami" moving from Mondays to Sundays. Now this could end up being a really bad move by CBS. Not that "Brothers and Sisters" will be any sort of competition.

The "Hawaii 5-0" remake is taking the Monday at 10 p.m. slot. I think this is a perfect chance for "Castle" to become the No. 1 drama on Monday nights. Notice I didn't include "Chase" in that part? Yeah, no.

"CSI: New York" also got moved from Wednesdays at 10 p.m. to Fridays at 9 p.m. (which is often called the death slot).

Some of the new shows CBS are premiering in the fall include the legal drama "The Defenders" starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell, "Blu Bloods" a cop drama with a great cast of Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg and Will Estes and the comedy "Mike and Molly" about a weight loss support group.

'The Vampire Diaries' finale: 'Founder's Day' Oh my Salvatore...the bitch is back!!

No television show has ever screwed with my head so much before in my life...

Okay, let's start at the beginning. It's Founder's Day. The Miss Mystic Falls Court is celebrated with a float parade, dressed in 1864 clothes. Which of course, really freaked me out. Just as Damon is telling a dressed up Stefan that Elena is not Katherine, here she comes, strolling up in a dress styled from the 1860's, and curtsies.

Wow, their faces were priceless!

I never like it when Elena looks like Katherine, but for this episode, it obviously worked. Even after Isobel's revelation, Damon continues to be his snarky little self, especially when it comes to a jealous Stefan.

In the middle of the parade, one of the confrontations that we have been waiting for finally happened. Damon and Bonnie.

Obviously, Bonnie decides to walk away and avoid him. But he does something that surprises her along with the rest of us. "Thank you...I'm very grateful. And I owe you." At first, I thought I was dreaming. Did Damon Salvatore really just say thank you? It's not the only thing that Damon did that surprised me during this episode.

After the parade, Elena confronts Damon about their "friendship", just to remind him exactly what lies between them.

Elena: "Don't make me regret being your friend."

Elena then once again, tries to talk to Jeremy, who continues to blow her off. Damon won't have that, so he instead, forces Jeremy to listen.

Jeremy: "Dick."

Damon: "You do not talk to me like that, I am not your sister. And from now on, you don't talk to your sister that way either."

There was a while there that I could easily predict what Damon would do and even say. But since Emily destroyed the crystal in "History Repeating," he has become unpredictable. Now Damon is the knight in shining armor, protecting Elena's honor. But isn't that Stefan's job?

Damon may be stepping on Stefan's toes, but he has always been the most loyal character on the show, no matter his intentions. When Damon decides to do something, he does it. So when Damon decided that he would protect Elena from anything when Stefan was busy battling his addiction, we knew his protectiveness over her would not rush off.

That, more than anything, is what I think Stefan feels threatened about most: that Damon has been protecting her better than him.

After the the murder of her mother in "Blood Brothers," Anna has been at a loss of where to go next. Before, she was hesitant to offer to turn Jeremy so he can be with her forever, but when she goes to him in desperation in "Founder's Day," he refuses. After finding Vicki dead, he no longer has a desire to be turned into a vampire. He wanted to be with Vicki. Now, completely alone, Anna goes to the tomb vampires, who are preparing to attack the founding families at the celebrations.

Meanwhile, John and Mayor Lockwood prepare the device for the attack. It will send a high pitched frequency to all non-humans, incapacitating them long enough to be injected with vervain and rendered harmless so they can be destroyed in a fire.

Instead of fighting with her brethern, Anna decides to warn Damon of the attack, who still believes the device is useless. Gathering together Alaric, Stefan and Elena, they prepare to protect the city. Damon confronts John, who activates the device. Damon goes down, along with Stefan and Anna. Elena and Alaric are able to get Stefan into hiding before the police deputies can inject him with vervain. However, Damon and Anna are not so lucky.

This sequence was done so beautifully. The editing and music of this highly intense montage was incredible, carrying the magnitude of events right into the next sequence. Basically, this is when I really started freaking out, along with every other "TVD" fan. Because not only did the bad guys and our guys go down, but two of those eight cliffhangers that Kevin Williamson warned us about reared their ugly faces at this moment.

Tyler, driving Caroline and Matt home with him, begins to hear the high pitched frequency the device puts off and loses control of the wheel. Caroline tries to take control, but they drive into a head on collison. Injured in the crash, Caroline has to be rushed into surgery. Let me tell you, I was so beyond ecstatic!! And of course, not only did Tyler hear it, but so did his father Mayor Lockwood. What exactly does this mean? No, they aren't vampires. One word: WEREWOLVES!!!

Yes, that's right readers, "Twilight" is not the only book that slaps vampires and werewolves together. In fact, "The Vampire Diaries" did it almost ten years before "Twilight." Does anyone else find that a little odd?

Anyway, those of us that read the books have been picking up little nuiances all season long hinting to werewolves. And now, the big move! They can't get out of it now. Werewolves have to be in the story next season. My tweet: "OMG!!!!!! I can't get over the huge WEREWOLVES IN YOUR FACE MOVE!!! Bahahahahaha!!!!!!"

Along with Damon, Anna, and many of the tomb vampires, Mayor Lockwood gets thrown into the basement to be destroyed. But before he lights the fire, John decides to take care of one of the vampires himself, staking Anna in the heart. Now, why does John single her out? My guess is it has to do with her relationship with Jeremy. Jeremy is the last in a long line of Gilbert vampire hunters, and John doesn't want anything getting in the way of that legacy. John leaves the basement and lights the fire. And once again, my heart starts racing.

Stefan and Elena confront John on street level. Elena begs him as her father to help. Too shocked that she knows the truth to answer, he lets them go by to save Damon, who meanwhile, sits up, still drunk with vervain, to find the Mayor beside him.

Mayor: "Damon, what are you doing here?"

Damon: "I'm a vampire. What's your excuse? What the hell are you?"

However, the Mayor never gets the chance to answer as his neck is snapped by another vampire. (OH SNAP!) Stefan rushes into the building as Bonnie holds Elena back.

Bonnie: "You can't go in there! The fire will take you out!"

Stefan: "He's my brother, Bonnie."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think Damon is damn lucky that Stefan loves him. Bonnie, stepping into her witchy shoes once again, is able to hold the fire back so Stefan can save Damon and lets it destroy only the other vampires.

When the fire is put out and the real story covered up, Damon disappears, and Elena confronts Stefan in the Mystic Grill. Still the jealous boyfriend because of Elena and Damon's new found friendship, she firmly reminds him exactly who she loves.

Stefan: "I try so hard to hate him. I guess it's just pointless."

Elena: "You care about him. So do I. But I love you, Stefan. I know that you're worried about that."

Stefan: "It's just...I know my brother."

Elena: "But I love you, Stefan."

Stefan: "I know the trouble he can cause."

Elena: "I love you, Stefan. You."

This, we are all highly aware of. Elena does love Stefan, and not Damon. But, no matter how much I want to deny it, Elena has got something going on with Damon. I am still in firm belief that Damon is not really in love with her, but is still confused over his emotions towards Katherine. But we all know that the love triangle will continue to get deeper in Season 2.

While Elena leaves to check on Jeremy, Stefan is met by Bonnie, who gives him a firm warning. Since returning in "Miss Mystic Falls," Bonnie has been avoiding Elena and her vampire bodyguards, unsure of how to treat them. That is, until she betrays Elena's trust in "Isobel" and does not take the spell from the device, intent on revenge against all the vampires in town. But, she still loves Elena, and saved Stefan and Damon for her best friend. But Bonnie is no witch to mess with.

Bonnie: "Because she loves you, I couldn't let you or Damon die in that fire...Damon has to change...I know who I am now. And if Damon spills so much as one drop of innocent blood, I'll take him down."

I'm pretty sure that is fairly self explanatory.

This next scene I have stamped as not only the best Damon scene, but the best scene of the whole season. Damon is waiting for Jeremy in his room to tell him about Anna's death. The conversation that follows is the most heartfelt I have yet to see on this show. Ian Somerhalder truly is a fantastic actor, and it should be considered a crime that I already know nothing and no one in this show will be considered for an Emmy Award.

Damon offers to take Jeremy's memories away again, but Jeremy refuses. He would rather live with those feelings rather than not know or remember why he is feeling them, like with Vicki.

Jeremy: "Making me forget won't fix it. It won't fix what's really wrong."

Sometimes I feel like this kid needs some Prozac, but he has been through quite a lot this season. His parents' death, a recovering drug addict, Vicki's death, finding out about vampires, Elena lying to him, now Anna's death. Come on, can you really blame him? Damon yet again surprises me. He apologizes.

Damon: "What I did to Vicki, was wrong. I'm sorry for my part."

Did he really just say thank you and I'm sorry in the same episode? What happened to my snarky Damon that I loved to so much?

Jeremy asks Damon about vampires and how they shut off their humanity. Damon confesses the truth. "Life sucks either way, Jeremy. At least if you're a vampire you don't have to feel bad about it if you don't want to. I did it for a very long time, and life was a lot easier." Jeremy, being the Prozac kid that he is, decides to go through with it. He drinks Anna's blood, takes a full bottle of pills and lays down to die.

Damon spent so long living with only the most selfish feelings, that it's almost as if he's forgotten what it means to feel hurt, loss and even jealousy. Just like Isobel, he turned off those human feelings so life would be easier. It's not that he didn't care, he just didn't want to. And when he found that Katherine was never in the tomb, and has always known where he's been, it was as if the barriers between the emotions of selfishness and humanity fell away, and he felt everything at once.

He began caring without even meaning to, and by the time he realized it, it was too late. He arrived in Mystic Falls intent on destroying all, and now, he has done all he can to protect it. Even threatened the woman that has been the center of his obsessions for most of his life.

Damon is changing whether he wants to or not, and he has no idea what to do about it. More evident than ever in this episode is that he wants and tries to do the right thing. But it has been so long since he felt human, that he forgot what it means to be part of humanity. What it means to have relationships.

Damon knows he is confused and nothing more than a child trying to figure out the difference between right and wrong all over again. Leaving the Gilbert House, he runs into Elena arriving home, confessing to her that he has no idea how to be a hero. "I'm not a hero Elena. I don't do good. It's not in me." And the only reason that he knows how to be is because of Elena. "Somewhere along the way, you decided I was worth saving. And I wanted to thank you for that."

First, he just gives her a kiss on the cheek, then dear God, he leans in for a real one. Now, all of my dear "TVD" Twitter Family knows that I am not for one second, a Damon/Elena shipper. In fact, I ship Damon/Bonnie. So this kiss had me freaking out! Grinding my teeth and wanting to punch Elena out. Jenna interrupts them and demands Elena get in the house. Damon, confused and befuddled about what just happened, touches his mouth, and leaves.

She surprises Uncle John in the kitchen, who goes on to confess how he and Isobel met in high school. However, Elena doesn't seem all that interested. At this moment, I was thinking the impossible. I've never seen Elena stand with that much attitude before. And about thirty seconds later, we all learned the truth as she eyes his hand on the kitchen counter and chops off his fingers along with his ring with a huge butcher knife.

John: "Katherine?"

Katherine: "Hello, John. Goodbye, John."

Then she stabs him in the gut. Hmmm....yeah. This was my reaction to that: "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOGMOGMOGMOGMG!!!! IT WAS KATHERINE HOLY ****!!!!!!!!!!" And this: "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!! I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!" And this: "I knew it because of the way she was standing!!!! Bahahahahahaha!!!! KATHERINE so great to see you!!!!!"

Like I said, I was freaking, but completely beyond happy. The real Elena then walks up her front steps, on the phone with Stefan, planning to meet him at the hospital shortly. She enters the house, calls for Jeremy upstairs, then hears a crash in the kitchen...which she of course, heads towards. Then....black screen.

WHAT A CLIFFHANGER. Or like Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson warned, EIGHT CLIFFHANGERS. This is by far the CRAZIEST and BEST finale that I can ever remember watching. Like I said, no show has ever messed with my mind quite like "The Vampire Diaries."

CLIFFHANGERS:
1. Anna's murder
2. Werewolves?
3. Car crash
4. Mayor Lockwood's death. Is he dead?
5. Jeremy? Alive or Undead?
6. John? Alive or dead?
7. Will Caroline survive?
8. Elena walking into the kitchen. Will Katherine still be there?

Jeez....that really is a lot of damn cliffhangers.

Now, what exactly do I think will happen in Season 2? I have no idea. Anything is possible with these writers. All we know for sure is that Bonnie is no longer afraid to use her powers, Tyler may be showing a bit of his wolf side, and Katherine is back. But here is my wishlist anyway:

SEASON 2 WISHLIST
1. Werewolf action
2. Katherine flashbacks, origin story
3. Damon/Bonnie growing closer
4. Katherine taking Elena hostage and screwing with the boys a little.

Give me a summer full of reruns, and then I may have some coherent predictions.

Network upfronts: ABC

Today ABC announced its schedule which includes a few shows from some old TV favorites. The network has new shows from Michael Chiklis, Dana Delany, Matthew Perry, Michael Imperioli and Rob Morrow.

The only notable show canceled was "FlashForward." Everything else had been announced already, so there were no surprises.

Surprisingly, ABC has the most interesting schedule so far. I found several shows that peaked my interest, of course I haven't seen any trailers yet, so I could be wrong.

The most interesting is "No Ordinary Family," a drama starring Chiklis about a family who develops superpowers. There is also "Mr. Sunshine," a comedy with Perry about a man who works at a second tier arena and begins questioning his life on his 40th birthday.

Delany stars in the drama "Body of Proof" about a medical examiner who is trying to unravel the mystery that ended her career as a neurosurgeon. Imperioli is in "Detroit 1-8-7," a police drama about Detroit's homicide squad.

And of course it wouldn't be ABC without a new Shonda Rhimes medical drama. "Off the Map" is about a small clinic in a South American village and the trials and tribulations of the doctors who work there.

ABC also has quite a few of my favorite shows returning including: "Castle," "Private Practice" and "Brothers and Sisters."

With three networks down, CBS is the last of the big four to hold its presentation. Once CBS announces its schedule, the full makeup of the fall schedule will become clear and we'll discuss all the programming hits and misses.

Network upfronts: NBC

This week the network's are holding their upfronts where they present their fall schedules. We will be covering them each day offering our opinions on new shows, time slots and canceled shows.

First up is NBC who really has nowhere to go but up next season. They didn't get off to a very good start when they unceremoniously canceled "Law & Order." And they're still hurting from the whole Conan debacle.

Everything is returning to NBC's schedule except "Law & Order," "Heroes," "Mercy" and "Trauma."

Tim note: No clue why you cancel a show that's been on the air for 20 years and then have two hours of "The Biggest Loser." All "Law & Order" needed was one more season to break the record. NBC could have ordered an eight episode "season" and been done with it.

After having watched the trailers for some of NBC's new shows, it doesn't seem like NBC is trying very hard to get out of the basement.

Among the new show they're pushing are "Love Bites," which was so terrible I couldn't get through the trailer, "Outsourced," which I give two episodes and Tim gives one and "Outlaw," which stars Jimmy Smits as a Supreme Court Justice who resigns to help out the little guy. The trailer was formulaic, complete with sappy musical ending and the show is not worthy of Smits talent.

Tim note: Out of all the Thursday night sitcoms to push back to midseason to make space for "Outsourced," NBC pushes "Parks and Recreation." After all the hype that the Adam Scott and Rob Lowe casting brought and you just throw that away? Wow. Also, in an interview with Deadline.com, the heads of NBC said about "Outlaw:" 'It’s a quite a compelling but also straight-forward 'Law & Order' show.' You know what else was a compelling, but also straight-forward "Law & Order" show? "LAW & ORDER!"

There were a few promising shows mixed in with the awful ones. "Undercovers," the J.J. Abrams spy drama/romantic comedy was interesting. Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw have chemistry and it has a comedic tone. It will be interesting to see how it does in the Wednesday at 8 p.m. timeslot.

Tim note: Doesn't look like my type of show, but I normally don't watch TV Wednesdays at 8 p.m. so I might give it a shot. The real question is how long will Abrams be involved in the show? He stopped really working on "Lost" after the first season and the same with "Fringe."

"The Cape" is about a police officer who is framed for murder and forced into hiding, who then decides to become his son's favorite comic book character "The Cape" to fight crime and clear his name. This and "Undercovers" are the only shows on NBC's schedule that I can say for sure I'll watch.

Tim note: Other shows to make note of include "Chase" (looks like a copy of "In Plain Sight), "The Event" (looks confusing and too "Lost"-y) and "Harry's Law" (David E. Kelley and quirky law drama... been there done that).

You would think a network that is so far behind the competition and has such a bad reputation would be willing to take a few risks with its schedule. This is the time when NBC should be going in a different direction than the other networks to set itself apart. If nothing else they have some of the best shows on TV on USA and Syfy, so why not give those shows a shot.

One thing is certain, NBC is in freefall mode and no one seems to want to fix it.

Network upfronts: FOX

FOX seems to have the most shows returning to its schedule. It also has the advantage of having a schedule that is always split in two. The fall schedule with the World Series and before "American Idol" is drastically different from the spring schedule when "Idol" returns.

Before I get to the new schedule, let's talk about how awesome the post Super Bowl episode of "Glee" will be. No doubt, there will be lots of guest stars and spectacular performances.

The network usually takes advantage of it's split schedule by holding back several show's premieres until the spring. Along with "Idol" and "Kitchen Nightmares," new shows "Ride-Along," the new cop drama from Shawn Ryan, "Mixed Signals," a young couples comedy and "Terra Nova," Steven Spielberg's family time-travel drama are slated to premiere midseason.

While I'm excited that FOX decided to take a chance on "Human Target," I'm worried that it's giving it the "Dollhouse" treatment by moving it to Fridays at 8 p.m. Why not split up "Lie to Me" and "Human Target" by airing one in the fall and one in the spring.

They would both work great with "House" or "Idol."

Unfortunately, the rest of FOX's schedule is unimpressive. From the primetime soap "Lonestar" starring Jon Voight, to the single dad comedy "Raising Hope" none of the network's new fall shows sound particularly interesting.

The only exception is "The Good Guys" which doesn't count because FOX is premiering it May 19. It's a buddy cop comedy starring Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks, and is from Matt Nix ("Burn Notice").

So, two upfronts down and so far I'm completely unimpressed.

"Robin Hood": Best epic drama of 2010

It's hard not to think Oscar when Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up together for a project. These two are responsible for many of my favorite movies of all time, and "Robin Hood" has held up all their standards. Although I don't think it beats "Gladiator," this film is definitely right behind it as one of my favorites from them.

I know there has been some discussion whether this film is a remake, re-imagining or a prequel. After seeing it, I would have to say it is both a prequel and a re-imagining. The story begins before Robin is actually known as Robin Hood or Robin of Loxley. His name is in fact Robin Longstride, an archer in King Richard the Lionheart's army that went to fight in the Holy Land. When the King is killed in France, Robin poses as Sir Robert of Loxley, who was chosen to take the crown of the King back to England. Robin and his three companions, including Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes) and Little John (Kevin Durand), pose as Sir Robert and three other knights to get free passage home. While sailing the English Channel, Robin decides he will return the sword of Sir Robert back to his father in Nottingham.

But before he gets on his way, he must pose as Sir Robert to Prince John, who is now the King, and a childish one at that. However, there is trouble stirring in England. Godfrey (Mark Strong), a nobleman and long time friend of King John, makes a pact with King Philip of England to stir the Barons of England against the King to start a civil war. Which is when France will invade.

Arriving in Nottingham, Robin gets acquainted with Lady Marion of Loxley (Cate Blanchett), Sir Robert's widow, and the Master of Nottingham, Walter (Max Von Sydow), who clearly knows more about Robin's past than he does. Walter wishes Robin to pose as Sir Robert for a time in exchange for Robert's sword and information about his past. Robin agrees. Curing many of Nottingham's ills and falling for the Lady Marion, Robin and his companions decide to stay, not aware of the trouble heading their way.

To get the country out of debt, King John decides to invoke a tax, which Godfrey is all too ready to enforce. Secretly getting the aide of 2oo French soldiers, Godfrey pillages every town. Meanwhile, Walter tells Robin the story of his father Thomas Longstride, who was well respected between the Barons of England. A philosopher, he had a belief that a King had as much need of his subjects as the subjects had of their King. He died for that cause. Now Robin is ready to take it up again, being called to a meeting of the Barons, planning to ride on London to take down the King. Having found that his friend has betrayed him to the French, King John also arrives, attempting to unite all of England. However, he is not the one responsible for it.

Robin speaks to the crowd. "The laws of this land enslave people to its King. A King that offers them nothing in return. What we ask for is liberty. Liberty by law!" The King promises to carry out their wishes so that they, all of England, will ride against Godfrey and France.

Meeting their enemies as France arrives on England's northern shore, there is a typical Scott epic battle. Lady Marion has also brought her band of Nottingham nomads that have been raiding from Sherwood Forest. There is, of course, a fabulous one-on-one battle between Robin and Godfrey after he tries to kill Marion. And, in classic Robin Hood style, he kills Godfrey with a perfect long distance shot from his bow.

Back in London, the presentation of King John signing the agreement he made with the Barons does not go as planned. He burns it, and declares Robin Longstride, now Robin of Loxley, also known as Robin of the Hood, an outlaw for the rest of his days. Robin and Marion flee to Sherwood Forest with the men who are destined to become known as the Merry Men.

I adored this movie, and definitely give it the "MUST SEE" stamp because I have a feeling that it will become one of the Oscar hoarders of 2010. I do think it is the best epic drama of the year so far. Knowing a taste of what is coming out the rest of this year, I have a hard time believing anything else can beat it out as the best epic and historical drama of 2010.

What I was really impressed with was how fantastic Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett were together. They are an on screen power couple. Their chemistry was fantastic. As good as Russell and Connie Nelson were in "Gladiator".

I can see how this movie can get so-so reviews from critics because of that little taste of romance between Robin and Marion that can come of as cheesy. Now, I didn't feel it was cheesy, but then again, something about the Robin Hood story always has been a little melodramatic. I thought Ridley Scott did a fantastic job staying away from the melodrama overall by adding in Robin's back story and the true villainy of Godfrey, but in a way, with the love story of Robin and Marion, you can never truly stay away from it all together. And in all honesty, Ridley Scott does not generally direct films about epic romances, so I will forgive him on that count.

There were plenty of nods to the classic Robin Hood moments, which I was particularly happy about. Robin and Little John do not start as friends. They in fact despise each other in the beginning, and have a little spat that ends when Robin accidentally hits the King in the face. Robin and Lady Marion also have their qualms about each other in the beginning, Marion threatening to cut off his manhood he is tries to touch her. This is why I love Ridley Scott so much. He is one of the best storytellers of our time.

Overall, I thought it is another fantastic Scott-Crowe film, and you should definitely look for it in next year's award season.

New episode up... and an editor's note

No "You should save 'FlashForward'" post from me afterall.

The biggest 'Law & Order' twist ever

As the networks get ready to announce their fall schedules at next week's upfronts, we are beginning to hear what's coming back and what's been canceled.

FOX decided to renew both "Lie to Me" and "Human Target" for 13 episodes, which works out perfectly the way FOX's schedule is usually spilt in half.

NBC has all but renewed "Chuck" for a season 4, however, things are not looking good for "Heroes."

Much to Tim's dismay ABC has decided to keep "V" and cancel "FlashForward" along with "Romantically Challenged," "Scrubs" and "Better Off Ted."

However, perhaps the biggest news is that NBC has decided not to renew the 20 year old "Law & Order." When I first heard this I thought NBC was nuts. But, after further consideration I've realized that the show couldn't continue forever and with S. Epatha Merkerson leaving this might be the time to hang it up.

It's true that recent seasons with Anthony Anderson, Linus Roache and Jeremy Sisto have revitalized the long running drama, but isn't it better that it goes out on top, rather than limping into that 21st season just for the heck of it.

That being said when a show gives your network 20 years and three successful shows, you at least owe it a proper sendoff. Canceling it at the last minute without allowing the loyal fans a chance to say goodbye to their favorite characters is disrespectful.

This is just further proof of how out of touch NBC's bosses are. "Law & Order" kept your network alive when no other shows could and you essentially called it up said "thanks for 20 years of loyal service, but don't bother coming in on Monday."

The show will obviously live on forever in syndication. It will be in the same league as "I Love Lucy" or "Star Trek" where it's always playing at some time somewhere. And the characters can make occasional appearances on "SVU."

Plus we all know TNT can't resist a good "Law & Order" marathon.

Why 'The City' is better than 'The Hills'

Friends, it's time for me to make a difficult confession. I love "The City." For the uninitiated, "The City" is a MTV reality show that's a spin-off of "The Hills."

The difference between the two though, is that the people on "The City" are likeable and entertaining, whereas "The Hills" is filled with spoiled rich kids who are unwatchable.

"The City" follows "Hills" alum Whitney Port (pictured above) as she navigates her way through New York City while starting her own fashion line. She is surrounded by the usual group of beautiful people, but what makes "The City" different is that these people seem like actual friends, not let's-hang-out-while-the-cameras-are-on-friends.

Whitney is supported by her friend Roxy who works at fashion PR firm People's Revolution, which is owned by one of my favorite people on the planet, Kelly Cutrone.

Cutrone is fantastic, because she doesn't stand for the foolishness that young girls on these shows usually bring with them. She has her own show on Bravo called "Kell on Earth" (which everyone should check out), but here she just acts as Whitney's mentor/second mother.

There is also the secondary plotline, that follows the show's villain Olivia as she works at Elle magazine. Last season detailed how Olivia and her boss Erin (pictured below), couldn't get along, because Olivia is incompetent and has her bosses fooled.

The show was trying to make Erin be the bad guy, but this season it's become clear that she's actually a nice girl who knows her stuff and Olivia is the witch.


In last week's episode Olivia passed on covering Whitney's line for Elle online, but was then served in front of all the editors when Erin brought in Whitney's book and everyone loved it.

This week she decided to skip interviewing Whitney in favor of doing an awful job covering her friend's jewelry line. When she didn't show up to the photo shoot, Erin had to break the news to Whitney who was disappointed and Kelly was swearing to rain holy hell down on Olivia.

When Erin confronts Olivia about her actions, she uses the excuse that she made it known she was covering something else. When Erin calls her on her unprofessional behavior, she ignores her and storms out of the office. Olivia has a habit of storming out of rooms when conversations aren't going her way.

This leads their fabulous boss Joe to tell Olivia to make things right with Whitney because her job is on the line. Cut to Olivia and Whitney having their dramatic showdown lunch, where Whitney, on the advice of her consigliare Kelly decides to not be nice for five minutes and calls Olivia on her sabotage.

Olivia of course can't handle this and storms out.

This may all sound like superficial drivel, and some of it is, but underneath that it's just fun TV.

Occasionally you just need to turn off your brain and check out and "The City" is perfect for that.

Whitney is such a down to Earth, nice girl that you can't help rooting for her success. And everything Kelly says is gold, so the show also becomes educational.

I also recommend that everyone go out and get Kelly's book "If You Have to Cry, Go Outside." It's part memoir, part motivational and a fantastic read.

On next week's show Whitney flirts with the hot photographer from her photo shoot and Olivia does a surprisingly good job at an Elle photo shoot. Of course I'm sure she'll storm out of a room at some point.

'Vampire Diaries': 'Isobel' bad mama returns, and Damon gets even

Holy freaking crap is how I have to start my recap of this episode, and that I can easily say it is my favorite of the season. There was not much action going on, but I'm sure other than the finale this week, it is the most intense episode of the season. For weeks, it is one of the moments we have been waiting for: the return of Elena's birth mother, Alaric's former wife, and Damon's former fling. Oh yeah, and now she is fairly bad ass vampire, despite being only a few years old.

The episode picks up right where it left off last week, with Isobel arriving in Mystic Falls, demanding Alaric to set up a meeting with Elena. Obviously, when she threatens to go on a killing spree, he has no choice. Perhaps even more shocked by her arrival than Elena herself is Damon, still frustrated that he can't figure out Isobel and John's master plan and why they want Johnathan Gilbert's invention.

They agree to meet at where else but Mystic Grill (Really? By now you would think another restaurant could have been built?) It's not what Isobel wants that is most shocking about her, but her demeanor. We thought Damon was evil in the beginning of the season, that he could not hate anyone more than Uncle John...think again. Isobel is cold, unforgiving and remorseless. She wants the device that Damon has, and will do anything to get it, including hurt Elena, her own daughter, in any way that she can.

Damon on the other hand, will not hear of it. As soon as Elena reports what Isobel wants, he finds his way to her hiding place, along with her two minions, that are so easy for Damon to manipulate on his own. Now, this is the scene that I have both been looking forward to, and dreading all at the same time. I wanted to hate Isobel, and I didn't want Damon to sleep with her just because she happened to be a past fling. This scene really shows how great of an actor Ian Somerhalder truly is. Able to channel pain, snarky, humor and revenge all in the same scene is remarkable.

Damon does what he does best, he fishes. And then he demands. Damon: "This little invention, what do you want with it?" Isobel: "I don't want anything with it, I'm just doing what I'm told. Damon we are on the same side...Katherine's." Damon doesn't take to this news too well. In fact, he think he was hurt yet again when he finds that once again, the woman he has been obsessed with for 150 years, has chosen not to deal with him yet again. And as Damon always does, he hides that hurt with snarky, that is until he finally gets pissed. Isobel tries her best to seduce him, only it doesn't work too well.

Damon: "Now that I have your attention, listen up. You don't come into my town and threaten the people I care about. Going after Elena, bad move! You leave her alone or I will rip you to bits because I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why, because it sends a message. Katherine wants something from me, you tell that little bitch to come get it herself!"

Oh. My. Gosh. How absolutely fabulous.

And without sounding like an obsessed fan girl (which I probably am anyway), I'm going to say this as simply as possible. I have never loved Damon's character so much in my life. I was literally ready to kiss the TV screen after his reunion with Isobel. I was so beyond happy, that I had to watch the scene many times in a row, and I'm still not off the ridiculous high it gave me. And I have a favorite new Damon line: "Katherine wants something from me, you tell that little bitch to come get it herself!" I'm pretty sure that line is never getting old.

Ever since all this tomb madness after the events of "Fool Me Once" and the revelation that Katherine has been free this whole time and couldn't care less about where Damon was, he has been in magnificent pain. He may not show it very well, but Damon is infamous for using his snarky little self to hide his true emotions. It serves as his pain meds. So the more snarky Damon, the more pain he is in. At least, that's my theory. In this scene, when he finally shows some anger towards Katherine, a woman he has been obsessed with for close to 150 years, is a big step for him. He may still be obsessed with finding her, but I don't think it is just to be with her anymore. He may want to take a little bit of vengeance first. And I hope he does. There would be no justice in the world if he didn't.

Perhaps the most surprising of all the story lines in this episode, is that of Bonnie coming to Elena and offering her help against Isobel and John, and now that we know who the mastermind behind all of this is, Katherine. And, with the help of Emily's Grimoire, we finally figure out what Johnathan Gilbert's invention is: a weapon against vampires. But why would two vampires want a weapon that destroys vampires? Bonnie may not have the answer to that, but she does know a way to help. Emily enchanted all of Johnathan's inventions to work without him knowing. All this time, it was Emily that was the great inventor, and Bonnie knows how to reverse those spells. Considering her recent Jedi mind trick on Stefan, I am in no way going to doubt her. But they still have to get the device from Damon, which won't be easy.

With Jeremy's life in the balance, Damon on one side, and Elena, Stefan and Bonnie on the other, they use every angle to convince him. There is only one problem: Damon doesn't trust Bonnie. And why should he? He is after all mostly responsible for Grams' death, and why would she want to help him now? Damon: "I don't trust you. I tried to kill you." Bonnie: "You're right, you shouldn't trust me." Elena: "But you can trust me." And of course, with their new bond of friendship, when does Damon ever not trust Elena? So, he hands over the device (did you guys see that Damon squeezes her hand and Stefan sees it!), and Bonnie does her voodoo on it, taking away the spell that is dangerous to vampires.

Then comes the fateful meeting between Isobel and Elena, and through this scene, so many things will change. Isobel with her minions, and Elena with her Salvatore bodyguards, Elena gives her mother the device and Jeremy is safe. But that is not all the business Isobel has with her daughter. Isobel: "Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any." I have never believed anyone so much before. Isobel truly doesn't care about anything. And how exactly did Isobel know Damon would give the device to Elena, well, she has an answer to that too. Isobel: "Because he's in love with you." Although we all want to deny that it is happening, it is. I would not go as far as calling it love, not yet. But it's clear that Damon does have something for Elena. And the look on his face when Isobel said this was priceless. It was somewhere between a "Oh crap! They found out!" and a "Really?" With Stefan standing right beside during this revelation put automatic tension between all three of them.

And still Isobel isn't done. She gives her daughter her final thoughts of advise. Isobel: "As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know you're not Katherine." What exactly is Elena going to do with this information? Being the sometimes dim witted girl she is, she may just make things worse, pulling Damon closer in until she really does have to make a choice. The same thing that Katherine did.

Stefan doesn't approve at all about Isobel's revelation, and oh so subtly, tells Damon to back off. His big brother agrees, swearing that him and Elena are only friends in his oh so Damon way. And Damon being Damon, always has to have the last word. When it comes to Elena, Stefan has always been the one that kept the secrets, and Damon the one to tell the dirty truth. Ironic as it sounds, it's something you can always count on Damon for. Loyalty and the truth. And he reveals a startling truth, that I honestly saw coming. Who is Elena's baby daddy? No other than John Gilbert, the man that is supposed to be her uncle. Weird? A little. But sympathy points for Elena go way up. Something about Damon that I have always loved is he knows when to cut the snarky and get serious. Damon: "Oh, and when you do tell Elena, and she needs a friend to talk to about anything...I'm here for her."

But that's not the big bombshell of the episode. It sits in the most unlikely hands: Bonnie's. Why did she want to help Elena? She had a reason, but not the one we think. The truth is Bonnie didn't take the spell from the device. She left it intact, which means it is still a weapon, and she knows it. She did it for revenge, against the Salvatores. And Bonnie is right, when Elena finds out, she is never going to forgive her.

Oh gosh, I have no idea what's going to happen in the finale this week. My predictions from the last few weeks have not changed. Although I didn't expect this choice from Bonnie, I am very excited about where it could go. It will open up so much story between her and Elena, and her and Damon is Season 2, including the Damon/Bonnie relationship I am praying will happen.

But apparently, according to Kevin Williamson, there will be eight different cliffhangers in the finale. Seriously Kevin?! Eight?! Do you want to kills us? And three of those cliffhangers will be a murder, a car crash and a hot kiss. And of course, of those three, the one that we are all talking about on twitter....this apparent hot kiss. Me, I think it might be Damon/Elena, but I'm hoping for it to be Damon/Bonnie. I really am nothing more than a sick fan girl. But seriously, it's what vampires do to you.

Random movie news...

First, I gotta ask this question after seeing the trailer again with "Iron Man 2"....does anyone know what the hell Christopher Nolan's "Inception" is about?? The movie looks cool as hell, but I'm still trying to figure out the story....Okay, anyway...back to the point...

I have run into a lot of random casting news, writing news, and photos over this weekend for many different movies. So I figure I'd take care of them all in the same post.

Well, I was gonna start with comic movies first, but as I was writing this post, more news was reported, including the first pictures from the set of "Conan", revealing the first photos of Jason Momoa in costume as the legendary warrior. The pictures are a little blurry, but you get the idea.


I know a lot of people have been very weary of Jason Momoa playing Conan, wondering if he is big enough. Personally having met the man, I think he is plenty big, and a very fine actor. Not only do I think he is perfect for this role, but this will be much better than the original, seeing as the script as we have been told, stays closer to the original story from the book.

And although there have been no pictures released yet, I bet his costume as Khal Drogo in "A Game of Thrones" looks very similar to this. From the small time SyFy channel character of Ronon Dex in "Stargate: Atlantis", to Khal Drogo in the beloved series from George R. R. Martin, to the legendary warrior. Congrats, Jason, I'm pretty sure your career just went from small time to very big!

Comic movie news:

In final negotiations to play evil scientist Arnim Zola in"Captain America" is Toby Jones. He will be joining Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson and Hugo Weaving. Actually, I didn't even know Hugo Weaving has been cast. I must have missed that news.

I'm not sure I missed the news about this movie being filmed, based on Warren Ellis' graphic novel "Red". The rights were picked up by Summit Entertainment, and it stars Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, James Remar, Rebecca Pidgeon and Felicia Day. Ha! With a cast like that, I can care less what kind of movie it is, I'll see it anyway.
Someone snapped a picture of Peter Sarsgaard as Hammond on the set of Green Lantern. Now, I'm not as familiar with the story of Green Lantern as I should be, so I'm counting on you guys to tell me if he looks fantastic or not.


And just for good measure, if you have seen "Iron Man 2"yet, you would be excited for this all over again, here's the first look of Chris Hemsworth as "Thor".


Casting and writing news:

Antony Hopkins has been cast to play villain Pharotu in "Arabian Nights". It is scheduled to begin principal photography at the end of the summer.

Jerry Bruckheimer has announced that development on "Bad Boys 3" is finally moving forward. The script will be written based on Will Smith's idea. Finally, is all I can say about this one.

Speaking of finally, David Twony has written the script for "Riddick", the third movie of the series. He released the synopsis of the film:

"Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick (Diesel) fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction."

Terrence Howard has been cast to play Nelson Mandela opposite Jennifer Hudson in "Winnie", based on the story of Mandela's wife, Winnie Mandela.

New episode up... and an editor's note

"Iron Man 2" only made $7.5 million during the midnight shows, that is more than half of what "The Dark Knight" did two years ago. So, don't expect it to break the record this weekend.

'Iron Man 2' Easter egg explained

There are two obvious hidden things in "Iron Man 2," both of which are spoilers so I won't mention them here.

But, Marvel fans will be able to see them and automatically know right away.

There is one extra one for people who are looking for it.

Like Stephanie and I.

At one point in the movie a television news broadcast is shown with the breaking news story about some sort of riot at Culver University.

After the screening I was trying to figure out what Culver University had to do with the Marvel movie universe.

Stephanie had a thought: "Was that the college in 'The Incredible Hulk?'"

Got home and searched it. She was right.

So that means that "Iron Man 2" and "The Incredible Hulk" take place about the same time. Which means the ending for "The Incredible Hulk" scene at the end with Tony Stark took place after the events of "Iron Man 2."

Nice bits of organization.

Next summer... hold onto your wallets!

Not in the sense that you shouldn't spend any money, more like there are so many blockbusters opening that you'll be broke.

Just look at this lineup SO FAR (These dates are placeholders and I'm sure will shift around before release date, but it's still a good indication):

"Thor" - May 6
"Pirates 4" - May 20
"Mission Impossible 4" - May 26
"Tha Hangover 2" - May 26
"X-men First Class" - June 3
"Kung Fu Panda 2" - June 3
"Green Lantern" - June 17
"Planet of the Apes" prequel - June 24
"Cars 2" - June 24 (Some sources have it at a different date, but still 2011)
"Transformers 3" - July 1
"Harry Potter" - July 15
"Captain America" - July 22
"Cowboys and Aliens" - July 29

No real date other than "2011" - "Fast and the Furious 5," "XXX 3," "Riddick" sequel and "Super 8."

That is something nerd worthy or blockbuster-ish almost every single week!

New episode up...

The 2010 Tony nominations

I know we don't discuss the theater a lot, but as the official Broadway correspondent for Inscaped it's my duty to report on this morning's Tony nominations. There were quite a few big Hollywood stars nominated and some shows with interesting connections.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis were nominated for lead actor and actress in a play for their work in "Fences." The lead actor in a play category sounds more like an Oscar or Golden Globe category with nominations for Jude Law, Alfred Molina, Liev Schreiber, Christopher Walken and Washington.

The revival of "La Cage aux Folles" received 11 nods including nominations for Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge for lead actor in a musical. "La Cage" is most commonly known as the show that inspired the movie "The Birdcage."

The musical "Fela!," which is produced by Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith also received a surprising 11 nominations.

Other notable nominees included Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Alan Grier, Scarlett Johansson and Angela Lansbury, who already has five Tonys and could become the most decorated performer in Tony history.

The one big snub of the morning was the Green Day musical "American Idiot," which was only nominated for three awards, none of them coming in the acting categories. The show was nominated for best musical, where it's up against tough competition.

If you're like Tim and this all seems like a foreign language to you, I suggest you watch the fantastic documentary "Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway." It's a fascinating look at the 2004 Broadway season through the eyes of performers, producers, composers and critics. It follows the shows from debut through to the Tonys.

The Tony awards air Sunday June 13 at 8 p.m. on CBS. No word yet on who will host, but if the Tonys are smart they've already got Neil Patrick Harris on the phone.

Who should Batman fight in the new movie?

Now that Warner Bros. has officially announced plans for a new Batman movie, it's time to discuss who he should fight in the new film.

While The Joker will always be Batman's biggest enemy, it's not a possibility to bring him back unless they recast and that could be tricky. Two-Face was set up perfectly, but Christopher Nolan has assured fans that he really died at the end of "The Dark Knight," so that leaves him out.

Since these films are more realistic than the previous Batman series, that leaves out The Penguin, Mr. Freeze and Clayface.

There are two ways Nolan could choose to go, he could either use another of the well known villains like Catwoman or Red Hood; or he could use a lesser known character like Crime Doctor, Firebug or Necodemus.

My idea is that they introduce Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia al Ghul. Since Bruce spent time being trained by Ra's in "Batman Begins," there is already a backstory built in that they could have been involved. Talia comes to town with her League of Assassins to kill Batman. She uses their past as a distraction to get close to Bruce and take away those that he loves targeting Alfred and Lucius.

This way the story is consistent with the previous films and there can be some awesome action scenes of Batman fighting the various members of the League of Assassins.

As far as casting, I'd like to see Zhang Ziyi from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as Talia.

Of course rumors are swirling that the villain could be Catwoman or The Riddler. Personally, I think Riddler is too cartoonish for the world that Nolan has established. Catwoman could work but a role like that really hinges on the casting.

I imagine somewhere Nolan and his brother and co-writer Jonathan Nolan are locked in a room arguing over all these issues.

Also if someone could tell Christian Bale to tone down the Batman voice in the next one that would be great.