Paul McGann 'would love Doctor Who return'

Paul McGann 'would love Doctor Who return'

Paul McGann has insisted that he would return to Doctor Who if asked.

The actor - who played the Time Lord in a 1996 TV movie - told Digital Spy that he would "love" to reappear on the show.

"Being Doctor Who, there's always anniversaries looming large - celebration programmes and episodes," he said. "I'm often asked, 'If they get the five Doctors together, would you do it?' and of course, I'd do it. They've just got to ring me up!"

McGann added that he is "still in the Doctor Who loop".

"Although I was [in] Doctor Who for six weeks, sixteen years ago, it never goes away - it only ever seems to get stronger," he suggested.

"I'd love to do that again, but that's not up to me."

The sci-fi drama's current star Matt Smith previously admitted that he would like to appear opposite McGann.

"Paul McGann is a great actor, man, and a great Doctor," he said. "I say bring back Chris [Eccleston] and Dave [Tennant], too!

"How many Doctors can we get into one story? Imagine if there were five or six of us in one ep and we could all just look at each other and judge each other."

Doctor Who will return for a seventh series in the autumn on BBC One. McGann's Sky Atlantic documentary The Petrol Age launches tonight at 8pm.

In praise of geek TV mums

In praise of geek TV mums

As it’s Mothers’ Day weekend in the UK, we salute some of the finest mums from the world of sci-fi and fantasy TV…

The pains of motherhood are a staple of TV programming. Some are literal, as seen in the sticky platter of amniotic membranes and umbilical cords served up by fly-on-the-wall maternity ward docs. Some are figurative, as experienced by reality show, soap, and period drama mums, the ones whose kids refuse either to go to bed on time, stay out of prison, or come back from WWI with a full complement of limbs.

Being a mum on the telly is a tough old business, but one genre has it toughest of all: nobody suffers like a geek TV mum.

The survival rate isn’t great for a start. Should a character in a sci-fi or fantasy show find themselves up the duff, they’d be well-advised not to start any long books. Before we even come to the gravidic death rate of sci-fi and fantasy mothers, there’s the small matter of finding out just what you’re pregnant with.

Twilight’s Bella Swan may grumble, but she at least has the advantage of knowing who her babydaddy is.  Would that life were so simple for most geek TV mums. Anonymous alien and demon impregnations come along as regularly as the apocalypse in sci-fi and fantasy TV shows, mostly fast-progressing and mostly putting the expectant mother in grave danger.

The X Files, Angel, Torchwood and Star Trek: The Next Generation are just some of the genre shows that have had characters wake up with a swollen belly and no knowledge of what’s growing inside it. Dana Scully, Gwen Cooper and Deanna Troi were all initiated into the alien branch of the pudding club in the course of their shows, while Cordelia Chase’s womb was host to not one, but two demons (seriously Cordy, aren’t you familiar with the phrase “Impregnate me once with demon seed, shame on you, impregnate me twice, shame on etc. etc.”?).

Whilst Gwen and the first of Cordelia’s unwelcome pregnancies disappeared, Scully, Troi and pregnant Cordy#2 all give birth, though none results in what you’d call a normal mother/child relationship. For his own protection, Scully has to give up her part-alien son for adoption, Troi watches hers grow to old age and expire within the space of a day, while Cordy’s turns out to be a fully-formed higher being intent on bringing about world peace through, erm, eating people.

And they were the lucky ones. At least they survived the process, there are plenty of sci-fi and fantasy TV mums who don’t. Alleyways seem to be particularly dangerous locations for expectant or new geek TV mothers, what with Angel’s Darla choosing to stake herself in one, and Being Human’s Nina being dragged into one and getting beaten to death. As far as I know, no alleyways were involved in the expiration of Ben from Lost’s mum, or that of Arthur’s on Merlin, though both fell foul of the popular death-in-childbirth storyline.

Right then, let’s imagine that a mother on a sci-fi or fantasy series gets pregnant, has the child, and survives to tell the tale. What next?

Abduction, more often than not. Once her flesh-self had been disintegrated, Doctor Who’s Amy Pond gave birth to TARDIS-infused daughter Melody, who was promptly whisked away to be raised as an anti-Doctor weapon. Understandably this really bothered Amy, until she mostly forgot about it and got on with the important business of looking great in mini-skirts.

Geek TV mums aren’t all as forgetful as Pond though, there are some who actually manage to raise a human child to a relatively successful age before it all starts going wrong for them. Chief amongst these is Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Joyce Summers, mother first to the chosen one, then to a ball of energy disguised as a sulky teen.

By all accounts, before Buffy was called to become the slayer, Joyce had raised herself a perfectly average bubble-headed daughter, it was only after the intervention of Buffy’s watcher that things became derailed. What better metaphor is there for the transition from little girl to secretive, sneaking-out-at-night-dating-older-men teenage daughter so many mothers experience than Buffy’s supernatural destiny? If only all mothers could pin their teens’ difficult phase on a mystical calling.

Joyce Summers brings us to an important quality in the geek TV mother: protectiveness. When she wasn’t being held hostage or dating homicidal robots, Joyce could be pretty badass. One of her top moments has to be season two’s axe-wielding “Get the hell away from my daughter” threat to a freshly-introduced Spike. Classic geek TV mum work, there, right up there with Jackie Tyler slapping The Doctor for bringing Rose back a year late without so much as a phone call.

You don’t have to be human to be a protective geek TV mum of course, in The Devil in the Dark from the original Star Trek series the egg-guarding Horta held her own against Spock and Kirk to protect her young, just as countless other mother critters have done since.

The most memorable non-human mother of recent times has to be Battlestar Galactica’s Sharon ‘Athena’ Agathon, who had a hell of a time holding on to baby Hera thanks to the evil machinations of her fellow number eights. It’s a good job she persevered though, what with Hera turning out to be mitochondrial Eve from whom all human life is descended. Just where would we be without these mums? I’ll tell you where, sans Slayer, sans Superman, sans mitochondrial Eve, sans everything.

On Sunday then, spare a thought for the lot of the geek TV mum. For Joyce Summers, Sarah-Jane Smith, Martha Kent, Beverly Crusher, Jackie Tyler and their ilk. It’s not easy to raise children who aren’t really children but Kryptonian exiles, adopted fleshkind bombs and human archetypes. It’s also not easy doing so only to be abandoned in favour of vampire slaying, ice fortresses, Starfleet Academy, or life aboard the TARDIS, but these mums handle their business and do the geek world proud.

Of course, there is a whole other kind of geek TV mum, and one that merits a very different kind of celebration, but we’ll deal with the likes of Game of Thrones' Cersei Lannister and Alias’ Irina Derevko another time…

Weekend TV in Review: Frozen Planet, USA's In Plain Sight, Walking Dead Finale

Weekend TV in Review: Frozen Planet, USA's In Plain Sight, Walking Dead Finale

The latest dazzling nature epic from the good folks at Discovery will chill you in all the right ways. The team of producers from Discovery and the BBC Natural History Unit, responsible for the sumptuous breakout hits Planet Earth and Life, are now introducing armchair travelers to Frozen Planet (Sunday, 8/7c), an endlessly fascinating seven-part foray into the most remote and unforgiving regions of the Arctic and Antarctic.

The ever-changing ecology is as mesmerizing as the diverse biology, with astonishing time-lapse photography revealing violent changes of seasons as tundra thaws. Violent and emotionally evocative vignettes of survival are par for the course as we observe polar bears fighting for sustenance, penguins frolicking in the surf and an albatross awkwardly taking flight, among myriad other marvels. Some behaviors are said to be captured for the first time on camera, including a jaw-dropping display of strategic synchronicity as a pod of orcas ("wolves of the sea") dive under an ice floe to dislodge an outmatched seal from its perch. We also watch from a helicopter's long-view perspective as a pack of actual wolves take on a herd of bison.

But the cameras are just as likely to go micro, as in a magical close-up look at the formation of crystalline snowflakes as they fall. Even when the narration gets awfully punny ("Pups are just wild about hare"), the wonders of Frozen Planet never cease. You're likely to be left speechless, except for all those "oohs" and "aahs."

ALSO CHILLING: From a planet of abundant life to a scorched landscape of encroaching death, the second-season finale of AMC's The Walking Dead (Sunday, 10/9c) arrives after a one-two punch of episodes that dispatched major characters with maximum impact. And as Rick and son Carl reel from having had to kill Shane twice — once at Rick's hands, in undisputed self-defense, and then as Carl's first kill when the former deputy rose as a zombie — they're immediately set upon by one of the most relentless and seemingly endless herds of "walkers" yet. For all those who've been itching for this tribe of survivors to high-tail it away from Hershel's farm, this is your moment, because they have no choice. It's a pivotal last stand that leads directly to the story's next chapter. Waiting till next Halloween (I'm presuming) will be excruciating.

USA'S LEADING LADIES: "Your mouth's like a gun. You should watch where you point that thing," says a new sparring partner for mediator Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi) in the second-season opener of USA Network's Fairly Legal (Friday, 9/8c). "Nothing's easy with you," laments a therapist trying to crack the hard shell of witness-protection marshal Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) as USA's In Plain Sight kicks off its fifth and final season (Friday, 10/9c). The question of whether these quirky women are too rude for their (and their shows') own good was raised by a viewer in this week's Ask Matt column — a debate that's likely to continue as the new seasons develop, although there's no doubting the star quality of these leading ladies.

The greatest change is afoot on In Plain Sight, as perpetually grouchy Mary prepares to return to work after a six-month maternity leave. Motherhood may have humanized her, but it hasn't softened her. Showing up earlier than expected, Mary reverts quickly to holy-terror form, bristling upon realizing a subordinate co-worker has temporarily occupied her desk. As everyone cringes in fear, she sneers, "Excuse me while I puke on this puke" (her jacket bears traces of spit-up, naturally). Because her labor coincided with Mary shooting a perp, she's ordered to therapy, which gives us a chance to try to understand what compelled this least maternal of figures — with major mommy and family and commitment issues — to accept the child and not give her away to adoption.

The case of the week, as often happens on shows like this, reflects Mary's own situation, involving a mother and her son who take turns stepping up to expose an exclusive college fraternity with deadly secrets. Some decent twists along the way, but the focus is really on Mary and the new person in her life who is even more helpless without her than her WITSEC clientele.

The tone of Fairly Legal is much more madcap, at times evoking David E. Kelley in its flip silliness as we're reintroduced to the effervescent Shahi as Kate, the lawyer-phobic, free-spirited legal mediator who's just been fired from her family's financially struggling law firm by her widowed stepmother (Virginia Williams) — a situation we know won't last long — while edging closer to divorce from her hunky prosecutor ex (Michael Trucco). A new potential love-hate interest rears its head, Shonda Rhimes-style, in the opening scene, as Kate rebuffs a handsome admirer's come-on while drowning her sorrows at a posh bar.

It will surprise absolutely no one who's ever watched TV that this same dude (Ryan Johnson) ends up being a glib "scumbag" (his client's words) of a hotshot lawyer who's involved in Kate's next mediation. Even though he refers to her as "Kali, the goddess of dissolution and destruction," you know they're not going to be able to stay out of each other's perfectly styled hair.

"You're diluting the brand," the new guy tells Kate, which in USA terms isn't exactly true. Yes, the banter is forced and precious, and the premise of the show remains rather fuzzy. But they're all so darned pretty, which is just how USA likes it. Especially on a Friday night.

Oscar-Nominated Documentary "God Is the Bigger Elvis" Debuts April 5, Exclusively on HBO

Oscar-Nominated Documentary "God Is the Bigger Elvis" Debuts April 5, Exclusively on HBO

From the late '50s to the early '60s, Hollywood starlet Dolores Hart appeared in ten films, acting opposite such big names as Elvis Presley, Montgomery Clift and Anthony Quinn. But in 1963, she shocked family, friends and fans by abandoning her blossoming career to become a Benedictine nun.

In GOD IS THE BIGGER ELVIS, Hart (now Mother Prioress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis) tells her story with insightful candor and humor, offering a unique glimpse at the spiritual journey of a former rising star, her fateful decision and her current life in a rural Connecticut abbey. Recently nominated for a Best Documentary Short Oscar(R), the exclusive HBO presentation debuts THURSDAY, APRIL 5 (8:00-8:40 p.m. ET/PT). Rebecca Cammisa (the Oscar(R)-nominated "Which Way Home") directs.

Other HBO playdates: April 8 (4:00 p.m.), 10 (11:15 a.m.), 13 (4:30 p.m.), 14 (9:45 a.m.) and 19 (2:15 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: April 11 (8:00 p.m.), 17 (7:50 a.m.), 21 (9:40 a.m.) and 26 (8:15 a.m., 11:00 p.m.)

The only child of divorced Chicago parents, Dolores Hart was plucked from obscurity to play Elvis' love interest in 1957's "Loving You," and when she received his first on-screen kiss, Hollywood instantly fell for the gorgeous 19-year-old. She was subsequently engaged to handsome young architect Don Robinson and starred in a number of other high-profile movies, including 1957's "Wild Is the Wind," with Anthony Quinn, 1958's "King Creole" (also with Elvis), 1960's "Where the Boys Are," 1961's "Francis of Assisi" and 1963's "Come Fly with Me," her final film.

Hart surprised Hollywood, her friends and especially her fiancé when she joined the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn. to become a cloistered Benedictine nun. "I never felt I was leaving Hollywood," says Mother Prioress Dolores Hart, recalling her decision today. "God was the vehicle, the 'bigger Elvis,' " she asserts with a smile.

Having first visited the Abbey at a friend's suggestion in 1959, as a way to recharge from the rigors of her Broadway role in "The Pleasure of His Company," Hart returned to Hollywood, although the Abbey never left her mind. She received a letter from Regina Laudis informing her that if she was to become a nun, now was the time. Hart admits she was torn, while her fiancé, Don Robertson, was devastated and speaks candidly on film about his heartbreak. After Hart made her choice, he would visit the monastery once a year.

GOD IS THE BIGGER ELVIS provides an unprecedented look at the daily activities inside the enclosed Benedictine monastery. One of the only abbeys of its kind, Regina Laudis is a 400-acre working farm that is home to 36 nuns, who follow a strict prayer regimen and daily periods of silence, as well as participating in farming, animal care and crafts.

The young Sister Dolores felt lost and alone upon entering Regina Laudis, but soon embraced the life and won the respect of her fellow nuns. Today, Mother Prioress Dolores Hart is the second-highest-ranking abbey nun, below the Mother Abbess, and offers important spiritual counsel to young nuns who are following the same path, some of whom share their stories in the film.

As the daughter of a former nun, director Rebecca Cammisa brings a unique perspective to the film. Her other credits include "Sister Helen" (2002 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Directing Award), which aired on CINEMAX, and the 2009 HBO feature documentary "Which Way Home" (Oscar(R) nominee and Emmy(R) winner).

CBS Orders Mark Burnett/Michael Davies Reality Pilot The Job

CBS Orders Mark Burnett/Michael Davies Reality Pilot The Job

CBS is doing its part to battle the unemployment rate: The network just ordered the reality TV pilot The Job, which will pit applicants against each other in an attempt to land their dream job.

In the pilot, which is currently casting, five contestants will compete to win a job at an unnamed women's/entertainment magazine in New York. Should it be picked up to series, each week would feature a different job at a different company.

Reality titans Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) and Michael Davies (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Watch What Happens: Live) are close friends, but this marks the first time the two British ex-pats will team up on a project as co-producers.

Burnett and Davies are the executive producers behind The Job, through their Mark Burnett Prods. and Embassy Row production companies. Sony Pictures TV, where Davies is based (and which produces Shark Tank with Burnett) is the studio attached.

The Job is the latest career-oriented reality series to set up shop at CBS. The network is also behind Undercover Boss, and had been working on the spinoff Be the Boss (which ended up at A&E instead).

'Great British Menu' opts for Olympics over Jubilee

'Great British Menu' opts for Olympics over Jubilee

The BBC's cookery competition Great British Menu is to celebrate the London Olympics rather than the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year.

After previously honouring serving British troops, UK food producers and other causes, the corporation is to devote the 2012 series to the sporting extravaganza in London.

The BBC Two show features "celebrity" chefs such as Antony Worrall Thompson, Gary Rhodes and Mark Hix competing to get their dishes on a banquet for a major event.

The programme was originally devised to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday, but it will not mark the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne this year.

Pru Leith, a judge on the show, told The Daily Telegraph: "We're about to start another Great British Menu, but it won't be cooking for the Diamond Jubilee. It will be about the Olympics this time, as it's such an exciting event."

The 2010 series featured a banquet hosted by the Prince of Wales in honour of British food producers. It is not clear whether a royal will again host the banquet for 2012, or if it may be London 2012 chief Lord Sebastian Coe.

Speaking at the launch of her autobiography, Leith - who was awarded a CBE in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours - confirmed that the chefs would be producing dishes for athletes, most likely after they have finished competing.

"The chefs will be cooking for these great athletes, which, I can only imagine, will be after the Olympic Games, because, with the different, strict diets they must be on, it could be terribly tricky otherwise," she said.

Ovation Dedicates Saturday Nights to "The Best You've Never Seen"

Ovation Dedicates Saturday Nights to "The Best You've Never Seen"

Ovation Kicks Off Its Original Programming Premiere Night With Holy Flying Circus, Laconia, Cloudstreet and What to do When Someone Dies

Santa Monica, CA -- March 16, 2012 Beginning April 7, Ovation will showcase "The Best You've Never Seen," a new programming night premiering Ovation's original movies, series and mini-series. The network will kick things off with the premiere of Holy Flying Circus, a two-hour movie based on the controversy behind the release of Monty Python's Life of Brian. Also premiering over the next few months is the series Cloudstreet, and the mini-series Laconia and What to do When Someone Dies.

"We're launching 'The Best You've Never Seen' with these remarkable original scripted dramas -- all of which will make people sit up and take notice," said Kris Slava, SVP, Programming, Ovation. "These unique and original themes are either based on modern literature or are steeped in contemporary art and culture. We believe this is the stuff that will make viewers come back again and again. And this is just the beginning. We have many more incredible, artful stories in store for our viewers. It's the start of a new era for Ovation."

"The Best You've Never Seen" premieres include:

· Holy Flying Circus - Premiering Saturday, April 7 at 10 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. PT. Written by Tony Roche (In the Loop, The Thick of It) Holy Flying Circus is a fantastical re-imagining of the controversy surrounding the release of Monty Python's 1979 film Life of Brian. The movie saw nuns with banners picketing cinemas, councils banning the film without even seeing it and religious groups organizing concerted campaigns against the film. It is a bold and entertaining homage to one of the most original comedy teams in British film and television history, and very pertinent as the debate about what is an acceptable subject matter for comedy rages on. Starring Darren Boyd (Four Lions, The Jane Show) and Charles Edwards (Batman Begins, Mansfield Park), with Roy Marsden (Silent Witness, Doctor Who) and Stephen Fry (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Alice in Wonderland, Bones).

· Laconia - Premiering Saturday, April 14 (Part 1) and Saturday, April 21 (Part 2) at 10 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. PT. This mini series by Alan Bleasdale (Boys From The Black Stuff, GBH, Jake's Progress, Oliver Twist) is inspired by the true story of unexpected gallantry in the fog of war. On the 12th September 1942 the Laconia - a cruise ship turned troop ship - was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-156 commanded by Werner Hartenstein. She carried a motley crew of women, children, wounded soldiers and Italian Prisoners of War. Having sunk the ship, Hartenstein should have left them to their uncertain fate, but instead he made the incredible decision to save as many lives as he could. Starring Andrew Buchan (Party Animals), Franka Potente (Bourne Supremacy) and Ken Duken (Inglorious Basterds).

· Cloudstreet - Premiering Saturday, April 28 (Part 1) at 10 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT. Set in and around Perth, Western Australia during the 1940s and 1950s, Cloudstreet tells the story of two rural families who suffer separate catastrophes and flee to the city to pick up the pieces of their lives and start again. Brought together in the same house at No.1 Cloud Street, the Lambs and the Pickles share numerous tragedies and triumphs that draw them closer together, until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. Cloudstreet is based on the award-winning and best-selling novel by Tim Winton and features an outstanding ensemble cast, including Stephen Curry (The Cup, :30 Seconds), Essie Davis (Burning Man, The Girl With the Pearl Earring), Kerry Fox (Angel At My Table, Bright Star) and Emma Booth (Clubland). The series will air on consecutive Saturday nights through June 2.

· What to do When Someone Dies Premiering Saturday, June 9 (Part 1) at 10 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT. Based on the best-selling novel by Nicci French (the pseudonym for the writing partnership of journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French), What To Do When Someone Dies is the story of Ellie Manning and the double life she lead until tragic events reveal who she really is. One woman's death brings her closer than ever before to discovering her own husband's killer. This plot-twisting mini series stars Anna Friel (Limitless, Pushing Daisies) as "Ellie Manning" and is directed by Tim Fywell (Mistresses, Waking the Dead, Inspector Lewis). The series will air on consecutive Saturday nights through June 23.

'Soccer Aid': Patrick Kielty signs up for Rest of the World team

'Soccer Aid': Patrick Kielty signs up for Rest of the World team

Irish comedian Patrick Kielty has signed up for another game as the Rest of the World goalkeeper at Soccer Aid.

Kielty joins a lineup of Rest of the World stars that also includes Hollywood actors Will Ferrell, Mike Myers and Gerard Butler.

Actor Michael Sheen will captain the side for the second year running and Gordon Ramsay will also return.

Sheen's Rest of the World side triumphed over Robbie Williams's England in the 2010 Soccer Aid, winning a dramatic final shoot-out thanks to a Woody Harrelson penalty.

Williams's team this year will include Aston Merrygold and Marvin Humes from JLS, Williams's close friend Jonathan Wilkes, Ben Shephard, Jamie Theakston and X Factor's Olly Murs.

Teddy Sheringham and Edwin van der Sar are the first footballers to sign up for the fundraiser.

Watch the finale of the 2010 Soccer Aid penalty shoot-out featuring Patrick Kielty below:

Previous Soccer Aid matches have raised over £7 million for UNICEF.

David Bull, UNICEF UK executive director, said: "Soccer Aid 2012 will raise vital money to change children's lives around the world. Every minute of every day, children die from easily preventable diseases like diarrhoea and malaria.

"Right now, children are suffering because they don't have enough to eat. It shouldn't be like this. Please, buy a ticket to go to Soccer Aid or watch the match and help us make a change for children."

Tickets for Soccer Aid 2012 are now on sale. Call 0161 444 2012 and visit ITV.com/socceraid or ManUtd.com/socceraid.

Bravo's Love Broker Shelved Until Summer

Bravo's Love Broker Shelved Until Summer

Bravo's newest dating show Love Broker has been pulled off the air after just two episodes. The cable channel is expected to air the remaining episodes this summer.

The series, which premiered on March 5, stars matchmaker Lori Zaslow, who tries to create love connections in New York City. The first two episodes both drew less than 500,000 viewers.

An airdate for the show's return has not been set. Beginning Monday at 10/9c, Bravo will air Bethenny Ever After in its place.

'Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern to play Isle of Wight Festival

'Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern to play Isle of Wight Festival

Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern has been confirmed as one of the acts performing at this year's Isle of Wight Festival.

The 50-year-old actress, who plays the Countess of Grantham in the television period drama, will take to the main stage at the event this June with rock band Big Country, best known for tracks such as 'In a Big Country' and 'Fields of Fire'.

McGovern told the BBC: "I am thrilled to be playing with such a stellar cast of musicians."

Tony Butler from Big Country said: "We had a tradition of working with great female vocalists such as Kate Bush and Eddi Reader in the past, so having the opportunity to have Elizabeth perform with us at the IOW is going to be really cool."

Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings said that he has been "a fan" of McGovern "since Once Upon A Time In America", adding: "As soon as I found out that Elizabeth could sing, it was a must to invite her to play at the festival. We will roll out the red carpet for Lady Cora."

McGovern will also perform at the festival with her own band Sadie and the Hotheads on June 23.

Acts already confirmed for the Isle of Wight Festival include Lana Del Rey, Elbow, Example, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Kelis and Feeder.

NBC Gives "Grimm" Early Second Season Order

NBC Gives "Grimm" Early Second Season Order

NBC is joining CBS in the early pickup game, as the network has ordered a second season of its freshman drama "Grimm."

Akela Cooper, a writer on the series, broke the news on her Twitter account this morning: "Walk into the office this morning & our showrunners David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf tell me the good news: #Grimm is picked up 4 a second season!"

The Friday series delivered 5.0 million viewers and a 1.5 rating/4 share among adults 18-49 in its most recent airing. The latter number goes up by 61 percent on average in additional time-shifted viewing in "live plus seven day" ratings.

This American Life Retracts Story on Apple and Foxconn

This American Life Retracts Story on Apple and Foxconn

This American Life has retracted its episode on Apple and Foxconn, the manufacturing company that makes iPhones and iPads.

In a press release Friday, This American Life said that the January episode, which painted a negative picture of life for employees at a factory in Shenzhen, China, was not properly vetted and that narrator Mike Daisey "misled This American Life during the fact-checking process" when he didn't provide the contact information for his interpreter or her real name. The episode was based on Daisey's one-man show, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.

"At that point, we should've killed the story," Ira Glass, executive producer and host of This American Life, said. "But other things Daisey told us about Apple's operations in China checked out, and we saw no reason to doubt him. We didn't think that he was lying to us and to audiences about the details of his story. That was a mistake."

Friday's episode of This American Life will include a segment with Marketplace's Rob Schmitz, who confronts Daisey about fabricating details. In his report, Daisey said that he met underage workers at Foxconn and that a man with a mangled hand was injured making iPads — neither of which are true.

Daisey admitted to Schmitz that he fabricated the details, adapting it from his theatrical show, and apologized for including it on This American Life. "It was completely wrong for me to have it on your show," he said. He also sent his regrets to "the people who are listening, the audience of This American Life, who know that it is a journalism enterprise, if they feel betrayed."

Daisey released a further statement on his blog Friday, saying that he stands by his work, which he called a theatrical piece that uses a "combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity."

"What I do is not journalism," he wrote. "The tools of the theater are not the same as the tools of journalism. For this reason, I regret that I allowed This American Life to air an excerpt from my monologue. This American Life is essentially a journalistic ­— not a theatrical ­— enterprise, and as such it operates under a different set of rules and expectations. But this is my only regret. I am proud that my work seems to have sparked a growing storm of attention and concern over the often appalling conditions under which many of the high-tech products we love so much are assembled in China."

Amanda Holden "embarrassed" by Simon Cowell 'BGT' pregnancy prank

Amanda Holden "embarrassed" by Simon Cowell 'BGT' pregnancy prank

Amanda Holden has spoken out about an embarrassing moment from the new series of Britain's Got Talent.

The 41-year-old actress revealed that fellow panellist Simon Cowell deceived her into thinking an auditioning contestant was pregnant.

"Simon's always playing pranks on me but the most memorable one involved a contestant," she recalled to the official Got Talent website.

"Just before she came on stage, Simon whispered in my ear that she was pregnant.

"Naturally, I congratulated her and it turned out she wasn't and it was one of Simon's fibs. I was so embarrassed."

Holden also stated that she is now a harder judge to please, adding: "There probably hasn't been any hard 'No's.

"I think each year I get tougher, because the show is bigger and better. 2012 is a massive year for Great Britain, you just think, 'I need to find the best. It's a no'."

Series six of Britain's Got Talent launches on Saturday, March 24 at 8pm on ITV1.

This TV Week in Review

This TV Week in Review

Sifting through the proverbial critic's notebook, a quick look back at some of the week's more memorable TV happenings:

Let's start with the death we didn't see coming: By which I mean HBO putting down Luck. With only two episodes to go in its underwhelming (though beautifully acted and shot) first season, the show was abruptly canceled two episodes into production on a Season 2 that probably shouldn't have been green-lighted in the first place. The reason wasn't ratings, which were dismal, but the third accidental death of a horse on the set (two died during Season 1). Which is a tragedy no matter what you thought of the show itself. There's a lot to admire in Luck, and the racing sequences are beautifully shot, but all parties are correct in concluding that the price is simply too high to continue. Though I would also argue that HBO may want to rethink this arrogant tendency of instantly renewing shows in which there's no discernible interest from the public or their subscribers. Still can't believe How to Make It in America actually got a second year.

Now to the TV deaths we did see coming — in one case inadvertently, as a major spoiler was revealed in testimony during the Nicollette Sheridan trial, blowing the surprise (to those keeping track of such things) that Mike Delfino was about to take a bullet on Desperate Housewives, leaving Susan a shrieking widow. Because she (and we) haven't already suffered enough this season. I'll be honest; I broke up with this show a while ago. Tried to reconnect as the final season started, but just couldn't bear how miserable everyone and their stories had become, especially the wretched Lynette and Tom. Checked back in this week to see how the big death played out, and was hoping against hope that the leak wasn't true and that Lynette could instead be put out of our misery. Her nasty attitude toward Tom as he declared he's actually happy with his new woman — who Lynette almost let choke to death later on — reminded me why I moved far away from Wisteria Lane. Although watching the great Kathryn Joosten (as Karen McCluskey) beg Bree to help end her suffering was a strong through-line with several classically macabre gags: Karen lying under the wheels of Bree's car, then cooking up a "suicide [rhubarb] pie" that Bree accidentally samples.

As for Mike's death, in broad daylight on his doorstep: Really? They knew the loan shark was gunning for him, even going to the police for protection, and he lets himself be a sitting duck? But as Susan coos in their final moments together, "You don't get scared," reminding him why she fell for him in the first place. "You always take care of people." Sure enough, he pushes her inside the house when he sees the Death Car coming. Mike never had it easy, having to put up with one of the show's most annoyingly neurotic characters (who stopped being lovable quite some time ago). Trust me, dude. You're in a better place. This is one wake I think I'll be sitting out.

Regarding the other TV death that we knew was inevitable, but which played with far greater dramatic power: the final showdown on The Walking Dead between Rick and madman Shane, who engineered Randall's escape from the barn (only to kill him off-camera) to lure his former best friend into the woods for a tense manhunt that's actually a pretext for murder. Shane's death has been foreshadowed for much of the series (and not just because he died early on in the comics). His feeling of envious displacement when presumed-dead Rick rejoined the group and his family at the start of the series has been festering into full-blown psychosis, exacerbated by the massacre of the barn zombies and the recent bare-knuckled grudge match on their road trip. "You got no idea what I can live with!" Shane shouts as Rick challenges him with a "Why? Why now?" (As if there's ever a good time for this sort of execution.) Shivers all around as Shane shoots back, "Lori and Carl, they'll get over you. They've done it before," reminding us of the impermanence of life in this dystopia and the resilience of these characters to soldier on. But Rick won't give up without a fight, and as Shane goes in for the kill, Rick fatally wields his hidden knife: "This was you, not me! You did this to us!" Good luck convincing everyone else, Rick.

Then the coup de grace, as distraught Rick finds his boy Carl (to whom he's given a gun during a soliloquy about death) waiting for him in this field of screams, and before they can talk out this latest horror, Shane rises from the dead in full zombie mode — we see the transformation within in CSI-style shock-cuts — and it's Carl's turn to take down the ghoul. We're not even left time to ponder how Shane and Randall can regenerate as zombies without having being bitten, because unbeknownst to father and son, a massive swarm of zombies is heading their way in the dark. Let the season finale carnage begin! G'bye, Hershel's farm.

Another penultimate episode nearly as intense unfolded on TNT's gritty police drama Southland, airing its next-to-last episode of the season — no way can this be the end of the road — leaving several of its key characters in grim situations. Officer Ben Sherman's recent unhinged smackdown of a pimp turns deadly when he and Sammy are fired upon from another moving vehicle, then their patrol car is broadsided, Sammy taking the worst of the impact (the better to inflame Ben's guilt). And Lydia puts herself, and her unborn child, in harm's way again, as she is attacked in a shed while her partner chases another perp. In a scene of quiet and excruciating anguish, her assailant grinds a weapon into her vest-covered chest, as Lydia groans, "Please!" in pain and terror. It seems to go on forever, until her partner returns to head-kick the brute off of her. We assume the vest saved her, but when she gets to the doctor's (late of course) for her checkup, another patient notices a spreading blood stain on her stomach. That can't be good. And Tang passes her sergeant's test, baldly lying about the orange safety tip on the toy gun of the kid she shot. Cooper's congratulations come through gritted teeth.

And lest you think Southland is all dark, some vignettes of the cops' daily routine have a twisted whimsy: the lunatic wearing a golf-ball costume, wielding a club as he vandalizes a junk shop: "Do I look like a private golf course guy?" he screams at Cooper. Or the domestic call in which a couple's rough sex goes too far, prompting Cooper to defuse the situation by suggesting the roles be reversed and see how the guy likes being choked. Or the littering citation for the jerk who tosses a banana peel out of his car: "A—hole with a small carbon footprint is still an a—hole." Officer Cooper, you rock. So does Southland.

Final thought: Did anyone else make the connection between the Southland subplot in which a perv streams live video from a diner bathroom with a hidden "toilet cam" and the return of South Park this week, with its TSA parody of a Toilet Safety Administration setting up intrusive security checks and video monitoring to ensure no one leaves the toilet seat up and enforcing the wearing of safety belts on the john. "We want the government out of our bathrooms!" Cartman declares in this symphony of toilet humor, and it's hard to disagree.

As much as I love Southland, it has the bad luck in the attention sweepstakes to go up against FX's Justified on Tuesdays, and that show is on fire. Cribbing yet another storyline (though with many differences) from Elmore Leonard's great read Raylan, we encounter a gang of prostitute bank robbers led by the smarmy pimp Delroy (Lost's William Mapother). And when the sole survivor takes refuge with Ava (Joelle Carter, yee-haw!), she takes the opportunity to blow Delroy off his feet the way she once did her husband, and as she talks it out with an agitated Boyd Crowder — the icky Delroy was under their protection, after all — she suggests she might make a pretty good madam. Who can argue? Meanwhile, Quarles' hired gun Tanner falls victim to a booby-trapped land mine in a weapons store, Boyd takes down Sheriff Napier and his "slick haircut" in a feisty public debate, and Limehouse and Quarles discuss the merits of shoo fly pie: "Like all sweet things, it draws pests." Justified is one yummy show, and when Raylan promises Limehouse, "I'm either going to put [Quarles] in prison or in the ground," my money's on the ground.

Smash-Vs-Smush Update: As introduced in last week's Week in Review column, I'm continuing to struggle with the battle between the terrific backstage drama of Smash and the contrived soap opera I think of as Smush. The plus side: Smash gave us a very compelling storyline in Ivy's vocal angst, as she struggled to hit the high notes. "A leading lady with vocal problems? No one believes that even when it's true," announced the imperious Eileen. When the steroid prednisone is prescribed, Ivy's worries are disparaged by the Evil Director Derek (by far my favorite character on the show): "Darling, you work in musical theater. There are lots of terrible side effects: bankruptcy, alcoholism, insecurity." Ivy's night sweats lead to a hallucination of Karen-as-Marilyn in her boudoir mirror, but the real Karen is busy challenging Florence + the Machine at a bar mitzvah (she couldn't learn the lyrics to Hava Nagila?), where she makes an important show-biz connection. As Karen lurks in the wings, waiting for the text that will allow her to step back in the lead, it's hard not to emphasize when Ivy moans: "That chick really gets on my nerves. Why didn't I just have her fired the first day?" Save that for your next show, diva darling.

The down side: On Smush, even the return of Julia's husband — with a symbolic chemistry textbook to remind us what's missing in their marriage — can't stop her from meeting Michael Swift in an abandoned rehearsal room for a private topless consult on the couch (which will later be used for a musical run-through, ewww). But nothing is worse than watching Eileen pal around with the odious Ellis at dive bars, where she relieves her stress by playing violent video games. (I'm sure I wasn't the only one wishing she'd turn that gun on Ellis.)

Who Made You Queen? Few things are more aggravating as a longtime viewer of Survivor than to see someone get away with all manner of egregious behavior and never have to pay the consequences. So far, that appears to be the trajectory of the obnoxious Colton, who gets separated from the male muscle when the tribes are surprisingly reconfigured and declares of his new team: "It's like Greek gods vs. peasants," not endearing him to the "peasants" on the new Manono. "These people suck at Survivor," he whines, and later moans, "It's really hard being the leader of a bunch of idiots. It's so difficult." Even those who see through this lazy malcontent's act, like Jonas (who wonders, "How does he get away with this?"), never push back, as Jonas seems content for now with being "Colton's bitch," so as not to make the sort of waves that sent Bill packing in last week's insane tribal council. Typical to form, Colton pulls the strings to send home the only member of their tribe worth her weight in challenges: Monica. Please may his reign end soon. And please Survivor, curb your recycling impulses and never darken your doorstep again with this creepy, pampered bigot.

The Ayes (on the Eye) Have It: It's good to be king of prime time, as TV's most-watched network (second only to Fox in the younger demo) CBS renews a whopping 18 series for next season, including dramas, comedies, reality shows and newsmagazines. But as CBS' programming history dictates, not even in success can a network afford to remain completely complacent, which is why some shows aren't a lock to return, including aging CSI spinoffs Miami and NY (which almost didn't make the cut last year). There's no doubt Two and a Half Men will return — that's just a matter of working out the crazy financials. And Rules of Engagement, the Rodney Dangerfield of utility players, somehow manages to survive year after year, though rarely with a guaranteed time period. What of newbies Unforgettable, A Gifted Man and the critically reviled Rob? Time will tell. (Though of the three, only Unforgettable would qualify as a surprise cancellation.)

Surprise, Surprise: Did not see Red Riding Hood being the actual killer wolf in the fairy tale (superior) half of Once Upon a Time. ... Did not see Caitlin (Anna Camp) giving up her promising fast-track career as Alicia's protégé-turned-rival on The Good Wife for motherhood and marriage. "I don't have to prove anything. Or if I have to, I don't want to." Something tells me Alicia is secretly envious. When Diane declares, "the glass ceiling was broken for this?" Alicia corrects her that maybe it was, that women should be able to make this choice. I'll miss her, though. ... Did not see Owen confessing he'd cheated on Cristina — though really, who can blame him? — on Grey's Anatomy. The question lingers: With whom? ... "So how was my funeral?" Emmet Cole's (Bruce Greenwood) first words upon emerging from his cocoon coma after being discovered on the penultimate episode of ABC's The River. His first act of consciousness: killing a zombie monster who's crawled aboard The Magus. As they so often tend to do.

The Honor Roll: Congratulations to Community, which I welcomed back yesterday, for returning with relatively robust ratings. (Thanks, Big Bang Theory, for taking the week off.) ... Good for Oprah Winfrey to open her exclusive (and by OWN standards, highly rated) interview with Whitney Houston's family by focusing on the part we all wanted to see: a nearly half-hour interview — not a sit-down, since both were standing — with Bobbi Kristina, the daughter whose mantra is "I gotta keep moving." (By contrast, American Idol waited until more than halfway through Wednesday night's performance show to address the ouster of "gentle giant" Jermaine Jones, which was hardly a secret by then. Not good — but what was he doing there in the first place?) ... Kudos to Rayce Bird, an Idaho tattoo arist, for winning the second season of Syfy's terrific fantasy-makeup competition Face Off. Even though some of his applications buckled during the models' live dance, his creature designs were stunning, blending from light to dark, with the transformative middle figure a creepy sight to behold. The audience agreed with the judges for a change. ... How refreshing is Blake Shelton's honesty on The Voice, to admit he'd never heard Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" after Lee and Lindsey struggle to perform it in their battle round. "I would have picked Monster Mash if I was going for creepy." Hey, Blake, can I be on your team?

Laughing Matters: Moist Books. Syria Tourism Board. Mosquito Breeders of America. Depends for Racists. Loose Marshmallows. Just a few of Rush Limbaugh's new sponsors, courtesy of Saturday Night Live's cold open (with Taran Killam's spot-on impersonation). The Jonah Hill installment was otherwise hit or miss, but I'm still grinning at the host's shtick as 6-year-old Adam Grossman at the Benihana table. ("I'm joking! I'm 6! Any chance I could eat before I'm 7?") Also hilarious: Kristen Wiig as Paula Deen, appearing on Weekend Update with chicken leg and brick of butter in hand, to declare "nutrition" the new "bad n-word." (Not so funny: Andy Samberg's purposefully bad Sarah Palin impersonation.) ... Though most of 30 Rock's St. Patrick's Day episode had me seeing green (as in bile, as I tried to remember what I used to like about this show), I howled when Tracy told his iPhone: "Siri, kill Jenna." Soon enough, we hear the voice go "I killed Jenna Elfman. Is that right?" (It will do.) ... Raising Hope got lots of mileage out of the "Jennifer Aniston" perfume Virginia was using to bait the neighborhood raccoon. "No man can resist this — except Brad Pitt." Sabrina pipes up: "John Mayer." Virginia: "Vince Vaughn." Sabrina: "Bradley Cooper." Virginia: "And that homeless looking guy from Counting Crows." ... Couldn't agree more with Bruce Fretts' Cheer about this week's Modern Family, the centerpiece of my favorite night of TV comedy. "If you squeeze me, do I not honk?" Oh, Cam! But just as strong was ABC's The Middle, as Poor Sue loses her boyfriend (to a long-distance move) and gains appalling new dental headgear for her new "underbite overbite," while Frankie and Mike take over Brick's paper route while arguing over Mike's hidden cache of batteries in his T-shirt drawer. "You don't get to have your own secret stash of bachelor batteries. When you're married, you share everything." So real, so true. And my heart melted a bit when big brother Axl consoles Poor Sue as best he can: "Guys could ... like you. Trust me. I see a lot of girls where I go, 'How does she have a boyfriend?' But you know what, they do. So ... why not you?" Awww.

As Heard on TV: "No, it's not just Scrubs in Florida, with a lot of wine." — Cougar Town's latest joke in the title credits. An honest mistake this week, as Scrubs alums invade Jules' world, starting with creepy "group exploder" neighbor Tom (Robert Clendenin) and Bobby's new crush (Sarah Chalke), with Ted (Sam Lloyd) camping out with his a cappella group, capped by end-scene cameos from Ken Jenkins, Robert Maschio ("the Todd") and Zach Braff as the pizza guy. ... "I can get a tetanus shot, but I can't cure damaged suede." — New Girl's Schmidt opting to go barefoot rather than risk his shoes on the walk home from his latest tryst with Cece. ... "And so it devolves: the glory of law to a turkey baster." — The Good Wife's Diane (Christine Baranski) lamenting the sordid specifics of their latest mess of a lawsuit involving the incorrigible Colin Sweeney (Dylan Baker, relishing every moment). ... "Unless Harry's Law really took off this week and no one told me, you two are the biggest stars at the network." — Jack appointing 30 Rock's Jenna and Tracy as hapless St. Patrick's Day parade hosts. ... "You gave it up so big, God came through your eyes." — American Idol's Steven Tyler trying to articulate the impact of Joshua Ledet's soaring cover of "If a Man Loves a Woman." Joshua, however, only had eyes for the platter of crawfish. ... "I just found the immunity idol, and it's in my crotch." — Survivor's Kim, oversharing with tribemate Chelsea.

'Just A Minute' turns 45 with BBC Two special

'Just A Minute' turns 45 with BBC Two special

The Nicholas Parsons-fronted Radio 4 show Just A Minute is to mark four and a half decades on air with ten special TV episodes on BBC Two starting later this month

Parsons will chair the television version of the show, announced last October, as he did for the very first radio broadcast back in 1967. He has not missed a show since then.

Airing weekdays at 6pm from March 26 to April 6, the BBC Two programme will stick to the long-running radio format, featuring a range of comics and performers talking for one minute on a given subject "without repetition, hesitation or deviation".

Show stalwarts Paul Merton, Stephen Fry, Graham Norton, Sue Perkins and Julian Clary will all appear on the TV version, along with new players like Russell Tovey, Ruth Jones, Hugh Bonneville and Jason Manford.

Radio 4 will also mark the birthday with Just A Minute Without Hesitation on March 17, featuring Parsons discussing the history of the show, and introducing classic performances from the likes of Merton, Clement Freud, Linda Smith, Shelia Hancock and Kenneth Williams.

There will be two Just A Minute in India specials on March 19 and March 23 at 6.30pm, as Parsons, Merton and regular panellist Marcus Brigstock head to Mumbai to greet the programme's legions of fans in the Indian Sub Continent.

They are joined by top Indian comedians Cyrus Broacha and Anuvab Pal for the shows, which were recorded in Mumbai's Comedy Store in front of a "lively, excited and sometimes unusually vocal audience of Mumbai urbanites".

Topics up for discussion included the legendary traffic in Mumbai, colonialism under the British Empire and 'It's Just Not Cricket'.

The shows will be followed by Parsons presenting his own Just A Minute Indian Adventure on April 2 at 11.30am, discussing how the programme rose to prominence in India on BBC World Service, and how it spawned a range of 'Indianised' versions of the game and 'jam' sessions among young Indian students.

Just A Minute airs 22 episodes a year on Radio 4 on Mondays at 6.30pm, repeated on Sundays at noon.

Pretty Little Liars Boss: A's Identity, Motivation Will All Make Sense

Pretty Little Liars Boss: A's Identity, Motivation Will All Make Sense

Pretty Little Liars' second season finale will finally answer one of the show's biggest questions: Who is A?

The ABC Family drama began a year after the murder of Queen B Alison (Sasha Pieterse), when her surviving quartet of friends began receiving mysterious texts signed with the letter "A." When the sender of those messages is revealed in the Season 2 finale (Monday, 8/7c), executive producer Marlene King says viewers won't feel blind-sided.

"When people find out who A is and what A's motivation is, they will feel that, looking back, it all makes sense," King tells TVGuide.com.

Of all the characters to have come and gone in Rosewood, who is the most likely candidate to be A? We asked King to weigh in on our best guesses.

Jenna (Tammin Sursok)
For Her: Jenna has motive: She went blind thanks to an accident caused by Alison (Sasha Pieterse), Aria (Lucy Hale), Emily (Shay Mitchell), Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Spencer (Troian Bellisario). She and Garrett (Yani Gellman) also pretty much confessed to Alison's murder in the midseason finale. Plus: She's lying about the success of her eye surgery.
Against Her: In Episode 23, someone lured Jenna to a house that blew up. After the clear attempt on Jenna's life, she apologized to the girls, saying, "I've never been the person you really need to fear."
King Says: "We'll definitely see more of Jenna in the finale," King says. And will the girls learn that Jenna is lying about her ability to see? "Eventually it will be addressed, but I won't say if it's addressed in the finale."

Mona (Janel Parrish)
For Her: She was tormented by Alison for years and her friendship with Hanna has given her access to the girls. SPOILER ALERT! She was also the original A in the book series that inspired the show.
Against Her: She's been an ally to the foursome in the second half of the season and has also started to receive texts from A.
King Says: Mona's role has increased on the show because "some people click," King says. "We felt this way about [Mona]. It was such a fun character we fell more and more in love with her as the show went on."

Melissa (Torrey DeVito)
For Her: Where do we begin? When the girls made sure Melissa would catch Caleb "cheating" on Hanna, they received a text from A about the affair moments later. Earlier this season, Melissa's then-fiancé Ian confessed to Alison's murder in his suicide note, but could he have done it to protect her? Then, there's the finale preview clip below and the fact that Melissa was also in the video from the night of Alison's disappearance. Oh, and she's dating Garrett!
Against Her: It just seems too obvious. What if she and Garrett are being framed?
King Says: "All those people we see... on that video tape on the night Ali was murdered, we refer to them as the NAT club. And you can't trust anybody in the NAT club!" King says. "There's still more about the NAT club and more about that night we haven't discovered yet."

Alison's twin
For Her: The Halloween prequel episode hinted that Alison was actually a twin (like she was in the books). If the story Alison told about two young twins was really about herself, then her sister was sent to a mental hospital when she was little and could be very jealous of her sister. The girls also learned from Duncan that Alison was acting "different" the day she disappeared. Maybe it was really her sister. That could also explain Spencer and Emily's vivid dreams about Alison. What if they weren't dreams at all?
Against Her: We don't know much about the twin and her current whereabouts.
King says: "People like to make that assumption ... but I don't think we've ever confirmed that Alison was a twin. We laid the groundwork for that being a possibility," she says.

Toby (Keegan Allen)
For Him: He's Jenna's step-brother, so he shares many of her reasons for hating the girls. He's recently become very distant and angry with his ex-girlfriend Spencer, and he has a tattoo that says, "901 Free At Last." (Alison died on Sept. 1, aka 9/01.) Plus, he's got the physical strength we've seen A display in fights at the greenhouse and the bell tower.
Against Him: He seems too innocent to hurt people!
King Says: "We do find out in the finale that Toby has a secret of his own."

Gillian Anderson 'turned down Downton Abbey role'

Gillian Anderson 'turned down Downton Abbey role'

Gillian Anderson has revealed that she turned down Downton Abbey.

The X-Files star was offered the role of Lady Cora Crawley - eventually played by Elizabeth McGovern - in the ITV period drama, according to TV Guide.

Anderson has appeared in a number of other period dramas, including the BBC's Bleak House and last year's adaptation of Great Expectations, which will air in the US on PBS on April 1.

A third series of Downton Abbey is currently filming and is expected to air in late 2012 on ITV and in January 2013 on PBS.

It was recently reported that stars Maggie Smith (the Dowager Countess), Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley), Siobhan Finneran (O'Brien) and Jessica Brown Findlay (Lady Sybil) may not appear beyond the third run.

Hugh Bonneville (Earl Robert Crawley) has also denied rumours that a film version of Downton is in the works.

The show's creator Julian Fellowes has since written a four-part mini-series charting the voyage of the Titanic and will next adapt the 1957 memoirs of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee into a film.

TLC Signs Ellen K to Be the Narrator of "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" and "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding"

TLC Signs Ellen K to Be the Narrator of "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" and "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding"

Ellen K - known to 20 million listeners as co-host of the #1 rated and globally syndicated radio program "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" - will be the narrator of TLC's upcoming season of MY BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING, and the new series MY BIG FAT AMERICAN GYPSY WEDDING, the network today announced.

The new season of MY BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING, sharing more of the outrageous weddings and extravagant celebrations of gypsies and travellers living in Britain, begins March 23 at 10/9c. MY BIG FAT AMERICAN GYPSY WEDDING will premiere later this spring. Both are productions of Firecracker Films.

Ellen K's body of work includes the nightly segment "Inside Hollywood" on KTLA (Los Angeles), and she serves as the broadcast voice for The Grammy Awards, SAG Awards, and American Music Awards, as well as other events and ceremonies. Additionally, she will receive her own star on the HOLLYWOOD WALK of FAME this May.

"I am amazed by the Gypsy culture, and became obsessed within moments of viewing the show," said Ellen K. "What better way to fuel my fascination and learn even more about this lifestyle than to become part of this series? I'm thrilled to be on board!"

'MasterChef' final peaks with 6.1m, defeats ITV1's 'Love Life'

'MasterChef' final peaks with 6.1m, defeats ITV1's 'Love Life'

The 2012 MasterChef final managed a peak of over 6.1 million viewers for BBC One last night, overnight data reveals.

Shelina Permalloo's cooking victory was seen by 5.62m (23.8%) on BBC One in the 9pm hour, beating the premiere of ITV's new romantic drama Love Life, which drew 3.93m (16.6%) and 255k on ITV1 +1.

MasterChef's final show average is down 300k on last year when it aired on Wednesday nights, while its peak is down nearly 1 million.

Before the reality show, Anne Robinson's Watchdog held a respectable 3.81m (16%) against ITV's 8pm soap hour.

Live football boosted Channel 5's early evening ratings between 5.15pm and 8.05pm, as 2.53m (13%) and a peak of 4m watched Manchester United crash out of the Europa League.

Action film XxX followed with 1.05m (4.6%) and 105k (0.6%) on Channel 5 +1.

Sarah Millican's Television Programme was BBC Two's most-watched show of the night with 1.6m (8.2%) at 10pm. Natural World interested 1.32m (5.5%) at 8pm, and 1.09m (4.6%) stayed for White Heat an hour later.

Location, Location, Location climbed to 1.59m (6.7%) for Channel 4 at 8pm (+1: 164k/0.7%), then factual series Mary's Bottom Line opened with 1.49m (6.3%) at 9pm (+1: 224k/1.3%).

Overall, BBC One overtook ITV1 in the Thursday night primetime battle with 21.5% against 20.3% (+1: 0.7%). Once again, Channel 5 secured third place with 7.5% (+1: 0.4%), ahead of BBC Two's 5.5% and Channel 4's 5.2% (+1: 0.7%).

Keith Lemon's Celebrity Juice continued to dominate the multichannel airwaves with a total of 1.6m, after grabbing 1.43m (7.7%) for ITV2 at 10pm, and adding 251k (2.4%) on timeshift.

After last week's low, Glee limped back up for Sky1 with 339k (1.4%) at 9pm.

Spartacus Episode 8: Things That Made Us Go "Ew!"

Spartacus Episode 8: Things That Made Us Go "Ew!"

On Friday's Spartacus: Vengeance, we see the fugitives and the Romans actually interact more than usual, which means more talking and a (little) less violence. That's fine: We're still reeling from last week's slice-fest and bracing ourselves for the finale bloodbath coming in two weeks.

In Friday's episode, Gannicus takes his hostage Ilithyia to the rebels' camp. His thinking: If Spartacus kills Glaber's wife, then they'll be even for Glaber killing Sura. Then there would be no more need for vengeance! Ah, Gannicus, if only it worked that way. Ilithyia reveals that Spartacus is her baby-daddy — remember all those flashbacks to her having sex with the masked slave? — and thus he's convinced to keep her alive. (Also, killing innocents is bad.) He offers her back to Glaber in trade for a wagon full of armor and weapons, but as expected (by everybody), Glaber pulls a fast one and loads the wagon full of his own men. After the melee, Spartacus leaves Ilithyia alive but alone in the forest to fend for herself.

Meanwhile, Glaber and Seppia continue their cozy and twisted relationship, and Lucretia isn't thrilled since she believes they should all be concerned with saving Ilithyia? Lucretia finds Seppius' signature double-serpent armband among Ashur's spoils and comes to the right conclusion: That Glaber had Seppius killed in order to take his men. She shares this info with Seppia, who is thinking deep — and very likely vengeful — thoughts when she's bathing with Glaber. What is that little minx planning?

On to those "Ew!" moments:

The Bodies - Nothing too different from what we've seen before: A few prostitutes servicing clients, Seppia givng it up to her brother's murderer and poor Lucretia getting raped by Ashur yet again. He really is asking for it soon!

The Blood - A few highlights:

1. We don't see any blood, but it's still disturbing to see the drunk at the brothel get his neck turned 180 degrees.
2. The flashback montage of Ashur's men questioning the brothel patrons has an assortment of bloody bits: the upside-down guy who gets his head bashed into a beam, another man getting his arm snapped so we can see the bone protruding towards us and the one guy getting a knife pushed up his nose into his brain (although the camera cut away, the implication was bad enough).
3. It was Lucius' time, and like he said, "At least it's not a f---ing Roman" who's killing him. The Egyptian gave him a glorious end, beheading Lucius so that his head did a triple backflip off his neck.

Spartacus: Vengeance airs Fridays at 10/9c on Starz.

BBC develops sci-fi sitcom pilot 'V Sign'

BBC develops sci-fi sitcom pilot 'V Sign'

V Sign will follow a group of human survivors fighting off the universe's most incompetent alien invasion force.

Written by Steve Turner, the pilot will be shot and produced in Northern Ireland, with casting currently ongoing, according to Broadcast.

"I'm delighted that we're getting a chance to show the class of Northern Ireland talent on screen and off," said Jon Rolph, managing director of production company Retort.

"A global alien invasion isn't usually the best way to start a collaboration, but we hope that V Sign's hapless visitors will spearhead many more projects to come from Green Inc and Retort."

Green Inc's Stephen Stewart added: "We have several projects in development with Retort, and are very excited that our first successful project is V Sign.

"Steve Turner's script and the world he has created excited us the first time we read it."

Retort currently produces E4's PhoneShop and The IT Crowd, while Green Inc makes Ask Rhod Gilbert for BBC One.

Ed Tracy (Fonejacker) will direct the V Sign pilot, with Simon Lupton (White Van Man) acting as series producer.

A&E Network to Premiere New Original Real-Life Series "Barter Kings" Summer 2012

A&E Network to Premiere New Original Real-Life Series "Barter Kings" Summer 2012

A&E has commenced production on the new original real life series "Barter Kings," featuring teams of entrepreneurs pursuing items they want by trading other items that they currently own. Cash is never exchanged and value is subjective, but these barterers know the current market well and they will trade multiple times over to get to the object of their desire. The network has ordered 13 half-hour episodes scheduled to premiere this summer on A&E.

"Barter Kings" follows the thriving subculture of cashless trading and the dramatic chain of events as entrepreneurs aim to get what they want by trading what they don't need. These traders have started out with an Elvis album and ended up with a speedboat, started with a boa constrictor and ended up with gold bullion, all by carrying out strings of trades for items of greater inherent value.

The series will feature the best bartering teams in the business as they encounter amazing characters and fascinating items. At the heart of every trade is the art of the deal and it takes a ton of strategy, charisma, and all out manipulation to close. When it comes to bartering, anything can happen, and these guys can't get enough!

"Barter Kings" is produced for A&E Network by Brownstone Entertainment. Executive Producers for Brownstone Entertainment are Drew Brown and Bob Gillan along with James Flint. Nicco Ardin is Co-Executive Producer. Executive Producers for A&E are David McKillop, Elaine Frontain Bryant, Neil A. Cohen and Nicole Reed.

'X Factor': Melanie McCabe returning for third attempt

'X Factor': Melanie McCabe returning for third attempt

Melanie McCabe, a two-time X Factor reject, is auditioning for the reality show for a third attempt this year.

Inspired by friend and X Factor finalist Misha B, McCabe claimed that she was confident she could "handle it" better this year.

McCabe was dumped by Kelly Rowland at the 2011 Judges' Houses stage. She previously failed to make the live shows in 2008 when Cheryl Cole claimed that she was too young and not yet ready for the main competition.

Speaking to the Irish Herald, McCabe said: "Misha B told me to just be myself and not to be overconfident on camera. She also said I have to be really thick-skinned to make it all the way.

"But I've been there twice now, so at this stage I really think I can handle it. This time round, I better make it to the live shows, though.

"I was really upset when I was sent home, I was devastated."

Veteran X Factor judge Louis Walsh has backed the singer, 18, to give the contest a third go, commenting: "I think she should definitely go for it again."

TV Tonight 17th of March 2012

TV Tonight 17th of March 2012

The daily list in alphabetical order, of all the new episodes airing.

    20/20 S34E32: "My Strange Affliction (3)"
    48 Hours Mystery S25E20: "Grave Injustice"
    Area no Kishi S01E11: "Episode 11"
    Bakuman. S02E24: "Imagination and Presentation"
    Bayou Billionaires S01E09: "Gerald Has an Art Attack"
    Ben 10: Ultimate Alien S02E30: "The Beginning of the End"
    Beyblade: Metal Fusion S02E32: "Explosive Fight! Tornado Battle"
    Bleach (US) S13E16: "Pursue Byakuya! The Confused Gotei Divisions"
    Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures S01E18: "Epic Cuffs"
    Cardfight!! Vanguard S01E63: "Two Powers, Side by Side"
    Casualty S26E27: "Ricochet "What Goes Around Comes Around""
    Color Splash S10E17
    Fairy Tail S03E27: "Hold Hands!"
    Formula 1 S04E01: "Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights"
    Green Lantern: The Animated Series S01E03: "Razer's Edge"
    Harry Hill's TV Burp S14E07: "Series 14, Episode 7"
    HGTV Dream Home Giveaway S05E03: "HGTV Dream Home Giveaway 2012"
    How to Rock S01E07: "How to Rock a Newscast"
    Last Exile (JP) S02E20: "Episode 20"
    Let's Dance for Comic Relief S04E05: "Series 4, The Final"
    Match of The Day S47E41: "Season 47, Show 41"
    Must Love Cats S02E02: "Tough Guys and Acupuncture Saves Cats"
    My Big Redneck Vacation S01E09: "Clampets Go Wild"
    My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic S02E21: "Dragon Quest"
    Pokémon S15E05: "A Maractus Musical!"
    Power Rangers S19E05: "The Rescue"
    Q'Viva! The Chosen S01E03: "Season 1, Episode 3"
    Saturday Kitchen S10E38: "March 17, 2012"
    Schlag den Raab S06E04: "Season 6, Episode 4"
    Shakugan no Shana S03E23: "Episode 23"
    Soccer AM S16E32: "Series 16, Episode 32"
    Take Me Out (UK) S03E11: "Series 3, Episode 11"
    Take Me Out: The Gossip S01E11: "Episode 11"
    The Aquabats Super Show S01E03: "Eagle Claw!"
    The Bronson Pinchot Project S01E06: "Old New Kitchen"
    The Football League Show S03E29: "Series 3, Episode 29"
    The Jonathan Ross Show S02E11
    Transformers: Prime S02E05: "Operation Bumblebee | Part 2"
    Vanilla Ice Project S02E11: "The Ultimate Garage Getaway"
    You've Been Framed S19E25: "March 17, 2012"
    Young Justice S01E21: "Image"
    Zero no Tsukaima S04E11: "Episode 11"

Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "Community" Returns With Season High for NBC

Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "Community" Returns With Season High for NBC

FOX (12.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 3.4, #1) held onto the top spot on Thursday with a new "American Idol" (15.52 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) followed by a rebroadcast of the "Touch" (8.67 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) premiere.

ABC (9.08 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.4, #2) then claimed the silver with the debut of "Missing" (10.56 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T7) alongside new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (9.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.0, #2) - a series low - and "Private Practice" (7.00 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) - tied as season low.

Next up was NBC (4.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #3) with the return of "Community" (4.89 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.2, #T4) - a season high - followed by the relocated "30 Rock" (4.04 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T7) - also a season high - and new episodes of "The Office" (4.89 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 2.3, #3) - tied as its series low, "Up All Night" (3.63 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.7, #10) and "Awake" (5.05 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #11).

Meanwhile, CBS (4.72 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #4) offered up its mix of "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Wichita State vs. VCU" (5.15 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #9), "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Update" (4.40 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12) and "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana vs. New Mexico State" (4.24 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T12).

And finally, new episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.62 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #14) and "The Secret Circle" (1.62 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.7, #15) on The CW (2.12 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) closed out the evening.

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.8/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.0/3 with an encore delayed by basketball; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.5/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.8/5.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/4 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.3/2 with an encore delayed by basketball; "Nightline," 1.2/5; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.7/4.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/4 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.7/3 with an encore delayed by basketball). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.2/2 with an encore delayed by basketball).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 with an encore in metered-market households and a 0.3/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (3/17/11):

FOX (15.46 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.5, #1) held onto top honors on Thursday with new episodes of "American Idol" (19.00 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.6, #1) - another season low - and "Bones" (11.92 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 3.4, #2).

ABC (5.76 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.7, #2) then won a tight race for second with a new "Wipeout" (7.15 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 2.0, #3), a special earlier "Private Practice" (6.09 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.9, #4) and a repeat of "Off the Map" (4.05 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #14).

Next up was CBS (4.75 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #3) with its coverage of "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: BYU/Wofford" (5.26 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6), an "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Update" (4.44 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.6, #9) and "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: St. John's/Gonzaga" (4.15 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T10).

Meanwhile, NBC (3.79 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #4) offered up its mix of "Community" (4.21 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6), "Perfect Couples" (2.89 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 1.2, #13), a repeat of "The Office" (3.70 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T10), "Parks & Recreation" (4.06 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "30 Rock" (4.24 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.7, #T6) and "Outsourced" (3.64 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.4, #12) - all originals of which were season lows.

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.23 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.5, #16) and "Nikita" (1.53 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.5, #15) on The CW (1.38 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.5, #5) rounded out the evening.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Bones (0.00%), Community (-5.60% vs. 2/24/11), Outsourced (-6.70% vs. 2/24/11), Wipeout (-9.10% vs. 2/24/11), American Idol (-13.80%), Perfect Couples (-14.30% vs. 2/24/11), Private Practice (-20.80% vs. 2/24/11), Parks & Recreation (-25.00% vs. 2/24/11), 30 Rock (-26.10% vs. 2/24/11).

In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.7/7; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 1.3/4 with an encore delayed by basketball; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 3.3/8; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.4/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 1.0/4; "Late Show," 0.4/2 with an encore delayed by basketball; "Nightline," 1.0/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3.

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (0.9/4 with an encore delayed by basketball). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.5/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/3 with an encore delayed by basketball).

At 1:35 a.m., Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.2/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

David Guetta to bring 4D to 'The Graham Norton Show'

David Guetta to bring 4D to 'The Graham Norton Show'

David Guetta is to be accompanied by a unique 4D projection for his performance on The Graham Norton Show this evening.

As part of the finale of the BBC One series, creative production agency Drive will use 4D projection mapping techniques - a process that involves content and 3D animation being projected onto backgrounds - for Guetta's appearance.

While the DJ performs his track 'Titanium', Drive will use two projectors and production technology to display bespoke content directly onto a set structure made from scaffolding and canvas.

This structure has been 'mapped', meaning the digital projection equipment can project a model of the structure back onto itself, overlaid with motion graphic content that conjures the illusion that the architecture is morphing and transforming.

Drive said that the CGI graphics will include a "pulsing cubed titanium tunnel", scenes from party island Ibiza and even a spaceship. It will be shown on the BBC One programme tonight at 10.35pm.

Ben Fender, company director of Drive Productions, said: "In the last year or so we've started to see 4D projection mapping moving increasingly into the mainstream, as more and more people become aware of the amazing things that can be achieved by combining creative vision with the very latest animation and projection technology.

"This type of project allows performers such as David Guetta to add a new dimension to the creative elements of their performance and interest from the television industry overall with regards to these techniques is really starting to take off - it's the future of television."

Drive has previously created 4D projections for the likes of Nokia and Polo Ralph Lauren.

David Walliams on 'BGT': 'The judges like each other for first time'

David Walliams on 'BGT': 'The judges like each other for first time'

Little Britain comic David Walliams has claimed that this year's Britain's Got Talent judges have "chemistry".

Walliams joked that for the first time in the show's history, there is no rivalry behind the scenes.

He also said that Simon Cowell was "really fun" to work alongside, insisting that his humour hadn't been toned down by the Syco boss.

"I've really gelled with Simon, we're always winding each other up. It's also great that I haven't had to tone down my risqué sense of humour for the show," Walliams told the official Got Talent website.

"Simon has a really good sense of humour about himself and he let me make lots of jokes about him. Whether they end up in the show, I don't know."

Of the panel as a whole, which also includes Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, he added: "I think the judging panel have chemistry, I think they all like each other and I think it's the first time the judges have all liked each other.

"I think this series is bigger and better than all previous series and the level of talent is really strong. I keep saying to Simon, Amanda and Ant and Dec, is this as good as previous years and they say it's better."

Britain's Got Talent starts at 8pm on Saturday, March 24 on ITV1.

Pauly D and Dev Host The "2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Special"

Pauly D and Dev Host The "2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Special"

MTV and mtvU today announced that DJ Pauly D and Dev will host the "2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Special" premiering on Sunday, March 18 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. The half-hour show will spotlight the hottest performances and most unforgettable moments from the "2012 mtvU Woodie Awards," which rocked Austin, Texas earlier this week during the SXSW Music festival.

The "2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Special" will feature high-energy performances by genre-defying Santigold, jaw-dropping rapper Mac Miller, and EDM superstar Steve Aoki, along with a suite of surprise guests. DJ Pauly D and Dev will keep the party going throughout the show, as mtvU honors the winners who have captured chunks of wood this year and infiltrated the music landscape. Additionally, Vanessa Hudgens, Kat Graham, Mike Posner, B.o.B., Mac Miller, Cobra Starship, Chiddy Bang, J. Cole and MGK will pay homage to the up-and-coming bands they love, and DJ Pauly D will spin fresh tracks throughout the special.

The 8th annual "mtvU Woodie Awards" took place on Thursday, March 15, 2012 in Austin, Texas during the SXSW Music Festival with live-performances by Santigold, Mac Miller and Steve Aoki, following a full-day of music by "Woodie Award Festival" performers including fun., A$AP Rocky, WALK THE MOON, Wallpaper., Chiddy Bang, Gary Clark Jr., Kimbra, Ed Sheeran, Dev, MGK, Imagine Dragons, and of Verona.

The mtvU "Woodie Awards" were established in 2004 and have since propelled numerous recognized acts to the next level of their careers - including surging record sales, headlining tours and mainstream notoriety. Examples include: The Killers (Breaking Woodie '04), Death Cab for Cutie (Best Video Woodie '05), Muse (Performing Woodie '07), Gym Class Heroes (Woodie of the Year '07), Lupe Fiasco (performed at Woodies '07), Paramore (Woodie of the Year '08), Kings of Leon (Woodie of the Year '09), Vampire Weekend (performed at '09 Woodies), Matt & Kim (Best Video Woodie '09), Wiz Khalifa (Woodie of the Year '11), and Odd Future (performed at '11 Woodies).

For more information on the "2012 Woodie Awards Special" or the "2012 mtvU Woodie Awards," please head to Woodies.mtvU.com.

Rosie O'Donnell's Show Canceled by OWN

Rosie O'Donnell's Show Canceled by OWN

Rosie O'Donnell's talk show is nearing the end.

"The Rosie Show" has been canceled by OWN, with the final show to tape on March 20 and air on March 30 at 7 p.m., the network said late Friday.

The show, a production of Winfrey's Harpo Studios, O'Donnell's KidRo Productions, Inc., and SantaBu Productions, premiered Oct. 10, 2011.

Calling O'Donnell "an incredible partner," Winfrey said, "As I have learned in the last 15 months, a new network launch is always a challenge and ratings grow over time as you continue to gather an audience. I’m grateful to Rosie and the dedicated Rosie Show team for giving it their all.”

O'Donnell -- who taped the show in Chicago -- added, " It was a great year for me -- I wish the show was able to attract more viewers -- but it did not. So I am headed back to my home in New York - with gratitude. On we go!”

"The Rosie Show," struggled from the beginning, earning a mere 497,000 total viewers for its premiere, with a .44 rating in the target women 25 to 54 demographic.

Jonathan Wald, executive producer of CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" -- which O'Donnell guest-hosted Thursday night -- tweeted his sympathy for O'Donnell, writing, "Sorry to hear the news @rosie. We loved having you fill in for @piersmorgan last night."

Development Update: the 17th of March

Development Update: the 17th of March

GOLDEN BOY (CBS) - Holt McCallany ("Lights Out") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, which tracks one man's (Theo James) meteoric rise from uniform cop at age 26 to police commissioner at 34. He's on board as Joe Diaco ("Italian, a Bobby Cannavale type with a questionable set of blond highlights"), one of the detectives from his days in homicide. Bonnie Somerville, Chi McBride, Kevin Alejandro and Stella Maeve also star in the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from writer Nick Wootton and director Richard Shepard. (Deadline.com)

INFECTION (ABC, New!) - Soo Hugh ("The River") has booked a potential drama at the Alphabet which chronicles a deadly pandemic ravaging the nation. ABC Studios is behind the hour, which will pick up five years after a desperate President ordered a border that divides the nation to halt the spread of the virus. Aaron Kaplan is executive producing alongside Hugh. (Deadline.com)

NOTORIOUS (NBC) - Tate Donovan ("Damages") is the latest to board the drama pilot, about Joanna Locasto (yet to be cast), a police detective who returns undercover to the wealthy family she grew up in - as the maid's daughter - to solve the murder of Vivian Lawson, the notorious heiress who was once her closest friend. He'll play Vivian's older, responsible brother Edward, who's married with two kids and serves as CFO of Lawson Pharmaceuticals. Katherine LaNasa, Neil Jackson and Victor Garber also star in the Universal Television-based hour, from writer Liz Heldens. (Deadline.com)

PRODIGY/BULLY (FOX) - Newcomer Thomas Vaethroeder has landed the lead role while Chloe Noelle ("True Blood") has also been cast in the comedy pilot, about a young boy genius who uses his brains and brawn to get whatever he wants. He'll play the boy in question, Audie Murphy ("strong, wiry and unkempt"), with Noelle as his younger sister Molly ("all sugar and spice"). Mike O'Malley and Missi Pyle also star as their parents with Hayley Holmes as eldest daughter Jackie and Cody Sullivan and Ysa Penajero as Audie's classmates. Peter Segal is helming the half-hour for the Warner Bros. Television-based John Wells Productions. (Deadline.com, Variety.com)

TABLE FOR THREE (A.K.A. DADDY'S GIRLS) (NBC) - Scott Bakula ("Men of a Certain Age") has scored the male lead on the comedy pilot, about Penelope "Pen" Morton (Christine Woods), a young doctor who returns home from Doctors Without Borders to find her father is seriously dating Holly Timmons (Nicky Whelan), the "mean girl" from her high school. He's set as her father, Robert, who's described as "safe, responsible, a creature of habit and someone who is made extremely uncomfortable by conflict." Brenda Song and Cedric Yarbrough co-star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, from writer Dana Klein and director Pamela Fryman. (Deadline.com)

THE WIDOW DETECTIVE (CBS) - John Corbett ("United States of Tara") has booked the titular role on the drama pilot, about a decorated detective who has lost three partners in the line of duty and serves as the male figure in the lives of his fallen partners' families. He'll play said fellow, Denny Brennan ("sexy and solid"), in the hour, which also stars Conor Leslie, Elyes Gabel and Natalie Martinez. Davis Guggenheim is directing from a script by David Hubbard for CBS Television Studios. (Deadline.com)