Proof of a kind and benevolent higher power

E! is reporting that the lone holdout from the cast, Michael Cera, has agreed to join the much discussed, much anticipated movie version of the best sitcom ever to grace the television. Yep, that's right....Arrested Development is fucking on.

Noooooo!!! Yessssssss!!!

ABC's Grim Reaper made the rounds on Thursday, swinging his scythe down on Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone.

Despite the subject matter and the occasional political preachiness, I enjoyed Stone, but the true gut-punch here is the loss of Daisies, which was the most inventive, charming, literate and laugh out loud funny show I've seen in ages. I wasn't on board from the very beginning (fuck you Comcast), but quickly got sucked into the wonderful world of the pie-maker, and watching this delightful and different show was a highlight for the week. Once the DVDs come out, Pushing Daisies will occupy a place of honor on my shelf next to another of Bryan Fuller's brilliant (and canceled too soon) creations, Wonderfalls.

The rumors around the TV watercoolor are that Fuller, if the fate of Daisies was sealed, would move back to Heroes. Lord knows that show could use his deft touch. In fact, if I was NBC, I would give Tim Kring the bum's rush out the fucking door and install Fuller as show-runner ASAP. Did anyone else read about Kring's latest idiotic statements? At a writing conference recently, he asserted that serialized shows are more difficult for people to follow in this era of DVRs. Huh? That's the most counter-intuitive and stupid thing I've ever heard. DVRs make it soooo much EASIER for people to follow Lost and BSG and Dexter and Mad Men and serialized shows now. If you can't make this week's ep in real time to follow the ongoing plotlines...HELLO!.... you can catch up because you have the episodes saved to watch at your leisure. In fact, lots of folks I know save up weeks and weeks of 24 to watch them all unfold back to back. Sheesh. And this guy is running a "flagship" show, albeit into the ground? Put Fuller in charge, like now.

RIP, Daisies. If only HBO or Showtime had the pie-maker's magic touch to bring you back. (If that was the case, and Pushing Daisies remained "alive" for more than 60 seconds, perhaps The Hills and Hannity and Colmes could die in your place to balance the cosmic equation).

But speaking of brilliant, funny shows euthanized before their time, it appears there's life for the Arrested Development movie. Yeeeeahhhh!

Is there anything that would convince me...

...of the existence of a higher power? Well, maybe this.

Praise be.

The 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time

Empire, the UK's preeminent entertainment magazine (and really, one of the best out there period) just published a list of the 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time. While it has a certain British sensibility, and includes several shows many of us in The Colonies haven't seen, it is a solid list and one that deserves comment. So open up another tab in your browser, and follow along with me as I count (most of) them down.

Nice to see some love for Quantum Leap

Would not put Prison Break in the Top 50. Or Top 250.

Veronica's best episode is NOT the S2 finale. And I might put it higher on the list.

DS9's best ep would be "Far Beyond the Stars," Trials and Tribbilations" or "In the Pale Moonlight."

Nice to see Farscape love, too. I would put it higher than 45. I would have never believed I could take seriously a show that featured muppets as aliens, but damned if it didn't work, thanks to inventive scripting and downright sizzling performances by Ben Browder and Claudia Black.

Star Trek at 43? Kidding, right? Dammit, Jim, that's too low!

Band of Brothers. Cool. I hate the way I finally got around to watching this one, though.

For Star Trek: TNG, they rightly named "Best of Both Worlds (Parts I and II)" as the best ep, though I would put "Yesterday's Enterprise" just a notch below that one.

Alias that high? Above 3 Treks and Farscape? I liked Alias, but not that much.

Deadwood at 31. Ahhh, dearly departed Deadwood. I realize there was more to Deadwood's demise than the creation of the trippy, challenging and ultimately frustrating John From Cincinnati, but I would have easily forgone that for one more season with Al Swearingen. And an average of 1,000 "fucks" per 12 episode season? That's 83 "fucks" per episode. That's fucking awesome, fuckers.

Love that Dexter made the list.

Bender on Futurama is named after Judd Nelson's character in the Breakfast Club? Cool.

Nice choice with Angel at 21. Numfar does the dance of joy. And of course, I would have it higher.

Scrubs at 19? Wha? Huh? I mean, I liked Scrubs for a while, until it became all about kids, but 19?

Best. Sitcom. Ever. Arrested Development at 18. Sweet, but it should be even higher.

South Park is still as funny today as it was when it premiered.

Heroes at 15? Has anyone watched season 2? Although I will agree with them about "Five Years Gone." I still have that ep saved on the TiVo, even after all this time.

Firefly at 14! Shiny! How do you pick a "best" episode here? "Out of Gas" is a very solid and obvious choice, though I'm also partial to the more existential "Objects in Space" (Jubal Early is a fantastic creation) and "Shindig" never fails to crack me up. And that's not even mentioning "Our Mrs. Reynolds" with the duplicitous and adorable YoSaffBridge.

Frak Yeah. BSG at 13. Too Low? So Say We All. And for my take on the best episode (and hell, ALL the episodes), check out this Very Special Edition of TNRLM's "The Canon"

Hard to argue with Seinfeld at 11, but I still put Arrested Development as the best sitcom ever, a c-hair ahead of this show and Cheers.

Now we're in the Top 10, with the X-Files at 9. Despite some hits and misses (mostly the unsatisfying wrap up and faltering under its own weight mythology), this still ranks as one of the best shows of all time. Best episode? They cite "Jose Chung," which might be worthy, but there are so many to consider, like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "Bad Blood" and many others, including "Home" (check out the Did You Know blurb at the bottom for the surprising origin of that story).

Never watched The Wire. Dunno. Just no interest.

24 at 6? I love watching Jack Bauer whoop some terrorist (or bystander) ass with the best of 'em, but as Gob Bluth would say...."Come On!"

Lost checks in at 5. Given my obsession with the show (I just received 2 "Dharma" and one "Oceanic Air" t-shirts I ordered last weekend), I can't argue with that one. Another show that's tough to pick a best episode. What about "Walkabout?" Or last season's finale, "Through The Looking Glass?" Or this season's "The Constant?"

You woke up this morning. Got yourself a gun. Mama always said you'd be the chosen one. Or at #3. "Long Term Parking" is indeed a fine episode, but "Pine Barrens" is a fucking masterpiece.

I'm fond of The Simpsons, and it certainly has had a significant cultural impact and impressive staying power. That's their choice for number 1. However, speaking of "The Chosen One," my choice for number 1 would be Empire's choice for number 2. The answer, of course, is the television masterpiece Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If you are still scared by the silly title, you're really missing out (much like I assume some folks are by Battlestar Galactica) and owe it to yourself to go buy all seven seasons on DVD right now. Trust me, you won't regret it. Or, if you like, you can do a little sampling at hulu.com. And then you'll go buy all seven seasons on DVD. I'll even get you started right now:

As for the "best" episode of Buffy? You can check out this other Very Special Edition of TNRLM's "The Canon" right here.

As you can tell, I don't have that many quibbles with the list overall, despite the omission of some "classic" series (Twilight Zone, Magnum PI, Cheers, M*A*S*H, etc.). The only "new" series I would think merits inclusion is the compelling Mad Men.

What's missing? Agree or disagree? What are the best episodes? Whatcha think, TNRLM readers?

Screw Hannah Montana in 3-D, I'm buying advance tickets for this

All week long, many of the entertainment journos have been marveling about the tracking numbers for a limited release Hannah Montana in 3-D movie hitting selected theatres this weekend. It seems parents who couldn't swiftly obtain a second mortgage to scalp tickets for her sold out concert shows (or come up with a fake, heart-tugging story about a dead dad in Iraq) can take their overcaffeinated tweens to a movie theatre in order to see that rare young starlet who hasn't showed her prepubescent birth canal getting out of a car, walked out of nightclubs looking like she had rubbed Dolly Madison powdered donuts under her nose, filmed a grainy amateur porn tape with a "producer" or "artist" banging her like a horny wolverine, or humped a swarthy paparazzo in a c-store bathroom amidst the empty Red Bull Cans and crumpled bags of Cheetos. Fandango and other online ticket retailers report extraordinary advance sales for the concert flick, which could top the box office this weekend, while most people sit on their couch knocking back beer after beer wondering what the fuck Ryan Seacrest has to do with the Super Bowl.

However, this morning I ran across this article which hints at preliminary talks ("a round of sniffing," according to Jason Bateman) for assembling an Arrested Development movie. You could tell me that there was a cure for cancer and peace in the Middle East and I wouldn't be happier. The Bluths back together? Come on! How awesome is that?

Can you buy advance tickets for a movie that doesn't have a release date yet? For a movie that hasn't even been filmed -- much less agreed to -- yet? I checked out Fandango this morning, attempting to rent an entire theatre for myself, but it wasn't listed.

While I'm always skeptical about "recapturing the magic" I think an AD movie could be a great thing, much like Led Zep's recent one-off concert.

Bring back our Bluths!

Entertainment Goodies

Lots of great viral marketing for The Dark Knight out there, and I really love the look that Heath Ledger has created for the The Joker. Here are two more teaser posters for the flick that just surfaced. We should probably see the first trailer online in the next couple of days.

Not only is Agent Scully returning to the big screen, Gillian Anderson gets a new gig on Masterpiece Theatre. Check out the link on the article for her on an English talk show, rocking the brit accent (I didn't realize that she was basically raised across the pond, and that the accent comes naturally. Cool).

Does anyone care that they are making a new version of Knight Rider? Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this is the new voice of KITT: Gob Bluth! Do we think the car will suddenly scream "Come on!" or tell the new Michael Knight "I think we've made a huge mistake."

Just because: Kristen Bell rocks the Princess Leia gold bikini. Geek heart be still.

Helpful poster: How to spot a Cylon. Also, check out the "Rosie the Riveter" inspired Colonial "propaganda" posters.

There are just so many poorly chosen words in that sentence.

If you don't know what that quote is in response to, it's Michael Bluth, reacting to this:

Tobias: "Well, yes, but I’m afraid I prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run, if you will, so now I’m afraid I have something of a mess on my hands."

Isn't it great when two awesome things come together? Like whiskey and water? Coffee and cigarettes? Chocolate and Peanut butter? Heroes and Kristen Bell?

That happened this morning, when I stumbled across this simply magnificent post (hat tip, Dawg Sports) thematically fusing two of the best things in the known universe: Arrested Development and SEC Football.

Yes, it's long. But if you're even tangentially familiar with the Bluths and SEC football, you owe it to yourself to read every last word -- and click on every precious morsel of scriptage from the Best. Sitcom. Ever.

What a fun sexy time for you, indeed.

I'll leave when I'm good and ready

A strange confluence of events last night resulted in two sly mentions of the "c-word" on TV.

First, there was the inspired fan in the outfield of the Nationals/Braves game. For more details, check out this post at Deadspin. Clever of him to start with the latter part of the word, making folks think he was going for the nice gesture of a "VT" for Virginia Tech.

Then, on House, after being pestered yet again about their "relationship" by Chase, Cameron told Chase "see you next Tuesday." This, of course, is meta on so many levels. First, in the plot of the show, Chase has been bringing up his longing for their former nookie sessions (and his "feelings for her") once a week, on Tuesdays. Second, the show actually airs on Tuesday. And finally, well, there's the "coded" meaning.

Which made me laugh and go find this beauty, which is perfectly applicable: