Eleven TV Events I'm Looking Forward To In 2010

2010 is almost here, and for those of you on the East Coast or in other countries, it may be here already. With the new year also comes new television, and 2010 promises to bring some good stuff.

Here's some of what I'm looking forward to in the new year. Some fan favorites like Chuck, True Blood, and LOST are noticeably absent; NOT because I dislike the shows or think they're not worth looking forward to - on the contrary, I'm sure they are - but instead, they are (don't kill me) not shows I currently watch.

Also conspicuously absent from this list is Heroes, which returns on January 4. I can only hope the show gets better, but right now, it's one of those things where I'd miss the show if it was gone, but I get so nostalgic for the days when every episode was a thing of greatness. (See: Season 1 between episodes 5 and 22)

Doctor Who: The End Of Time, Part 2 (January 1/2)
The United Kingdom gets this on January 1 itself. Those of us in the United States have to wait for Saturday on BBC America. This marks the end of Russell T. Davies' era as executive producer; it's also a farewell to a man who made the Doctor role his own, David Tennant.

Tennant's performance as the Doctor was amazing and at many times better than the scripts he was given to work with. I wish he had stayed for a year with incoming showrunner Steven Moffatt but sadly it is not to be. His successor, Matt Smith, has some powerful Converses to fill. I'm hopeful; especially when you consider it was almost five years ago that everyone was in a panic that new Doctor Christopher Eccleston was leaving after only one year in the role. That Tennant guy sure worked out, didn't he?

The Human Target (January 17)
I still wish this more resembled its comic book counterpart, but any TV show based on a comic book is welcome to me, and this show might have the right mix of elements to be a hit for FOX. Next time, though, adapt something that more folks have heard of though, okay?

The return of The Vampire Diaries (most likely January 21)
I was skeptical, expecting a TV Twilight when this premiered. But with every episode the mythology seems to get more and more involved, with new characters weaving in and out and new situations for the show's main characters. It's also really nice to have a CW show that's not about rich white girls, too.

Smallville: Absolute Justice (February 5)
Smallville actually returns on January 22 but the two-hour "movie event" (really two episodes tied together) featuring the legendary Justice Society of America will surely have a lot to offer, especially since it's written by Geoff Johns. Hopefully the JSA characters seen in the promotional images and trailers will be just as good in the episode, though I still think they could have cast a younger Star Girl.

The return of V (March 30)
Although the "fall finale" seemed to be more of a regular episode with some cliffhangers tacked on, I'm pretty confident that the return of V will be something pretty impressive - especially since the new showrunners have had time to organize things and set a direction before the show comes back. Coming on after LOST surely won't hurt, either.

The return of GLEE (April 13)
I'm not ashamed to admit that GLEE is one of those rare shows that I'll never wait to watch a few days later on DVR. A well-cast group of actors playing a well-written group of characters, some really good music, and Sue Sylvester - what more does a show need?

Day One (NBC Midseason)
Jesse Alexander's "the day after a catastrophe" series is right now unscheduled, and NBC has reduced it to being a four-hour "miniseries" to start, but I'm still very curious. Could be good.

Syfy's The Phantom (TBA)
It's aired in Canada (though no torrents can be found anywhere - boo! hiss!), and the costume looks silly as all get out, but again, the idea of a mainstream comics property on TV is very exciting to me.

AMC's The Walking Dead (TBA)
I recently got to reading the comic book trade paperbacks detailing the continuing story of this "open-ended zombie movie" by Robert Kirkman. The fact that Frank Darabont (The Mist) is directing and executive producing also has me very excited. Bonus points if they shoot in black and white.

Powers on FX (TBA)
Who knows if this will even come in 2010. The comic series by Bendis and Oeming would make a darned good TV show, though.

The Smallville Spin-Off (TBA)
I'm calling it now: 2010 will bring us news of a Smallville spin-off. This isn't going off of any sort of "insider information," either. It just seems like the logical thing to do. The CW needs a show like Smallville, and it's doubtful Smallville will last more than 10 seasons. On that same level of confidence, though, I'm pretty sure both Smallville and Supernatural will be back for one more season each.

What's New In The KryptonSite Network: December 22, 2009

Here are some of the latest headlines from across the KryptonSite network of sites:

- The CW has recently aired a new trailer with clips from upcoming Smallville episodes including the two-hour "Absolute Justice." Screen captures of the latest trailer can be found here, while caps from the [different] first one can be found here. Additionally, the title for the sixteenth episode of Season Nine has been revealed on the KryptonSite spoilers page.

- A new Heroes promotional trailer has been released by NBC. That can be found on HeroSite.net. Heroes returns January 4 with two back-to-back episodes.

- Series Two of Merlin has now concluded in the United Kingdom. What did you think? Talk about the finale on our forum!

- The Phantom doesn't air in the United States on Syfy until next year, but it's premiering in Canada on the Movie Network this week. More information including photos and character breakdowns can be found at PhantomSite.net.

- The winners of our BBC holiday contest will be announced shortly.

- Actress Mia Kirshner will soon be guesting on The Vampire Diaries.

- GLEE has been nominated for multiple Golden Globe awards.

- V will return to ABC on March 30, 2010.

- Actress Emmanuelle Vaugier will go from one DC Comics-based show to another as she will be appearing in multiple episodes of FOX's upcoming Human Target. The show premieres on January 17, 2010. Additionally, some new promotional images have been released and are now posted at the Target419.com gallery.

- Smallville actor Ryan Kennedy (Cosmic Boy) will be taking on a multi-episode role in the new Battlestar Galactica prequel spin-off Caprica.

- Another new role for a Smallville vet: Tyler Posey (Javier from the episode "Subterranean") has been cast as the lead in MTV's upcoming TV series based on the Teen Wolf movies.

Thanks as always for visiting the site network!

Cashing In On A New Craze? FOX Orders Howl

After the success of New Moon and the television success of shows like True Blood or The Vampire Diaries, it should come as no surprise that FOX wants a piece of the perceived next fad - werewolves - in a new Dreamworks TV pilot in development for the network.

Variety describes the show, titled Howl, as "an epic family saga about warring families of werewolves in a small Alaskan town."

"Alaska is a place where people disappear and now you know why," writer Joshua Miller told Variety.

Variety also notes that the script reflects the changes that are going on in the country, and "metamorphosis and constant change is the basis of werewolf mythology," Miller added. "Howl" is about "the psychology of living with change."

Miller is writing the project with M.A. Fortin. Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of DreamWorks TV will executive produce.

What do you think of this idea? Sound off in the comments... me, I'll withhold comment until I hear or see more, but I'm a little skeptical. At least it sounds better than that show that was pitched as "Sex and the City with were-women." And maybe unlike with Twilight, these werewolves will actually wear shirts...

Edited to add: Apparently here and on the KryptonSite Forum some people think this may be a good idea after all... giving the benefit of the doubt, I was skeptical about The Vampire Diaries and that turned out to be good... so, more thoughts, anyone?

KryptonSite Network Favorites Up For People's Choice Awards

Decisions, decisions.

This year's nominees for the People's Choice Awards are now up for voting, and several KryptonSite Network favorites are nominated.

These include:

Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Star Trek) for Favorite Breakout Movie Actor
Both V and Vampire Diaries for Favorite New TV Drama
Glee for Favorite New TV Comedy

Vote now and show your support!

Flash Forward

One of the genre-related shows premiering this Fall that ABC is very high on is Flash Forward, based on the novel of the same name.

In the TV series, everyone seems to black out for over two minutes - and in that period of time, they witness a "flash forward" to April 2010. The show explores the mysteries of what exactly everyone has seen, and how they get to that point. There's also the mystery of how all of this happened in the first place.

There are many familiar faces within the pilot and even more in the series itself. ABC has done a lot of viral marketing, too, with hopes of this being their next LOST.

Whether or not it will pan out to be a hit remains to be seen; personally speaking, at the moment V looks like a much more accessible, fun mainstream hit. There's also not a lot of activity on the KryptonSite Flash Forward forum thread just yet, but maybe that just means it's not the same kind of audience. That could change when the show actually airs, though.

Either way - while there is no Flash Forward site in the KryptonSite Network - we do have a gallery. Check it out! Several new images have just been added. And if you've got some comments about your expectations for the show, please leave them here.

Myself, I'm not sure if I will be watching beyond the pilot. The Vampire Diaries on The CW will be airing at the exact same time... and while the storytelling on the ABC show might be a bit deeper, TVD itself is a lot of fun. So, we'll see.

New Vampire Diairies Promo: "Don't Be Squeamish"

The CW has released another promo for their upcoming series The Vampire Diaries.

You can read more about the show at VampireSite.net, and you can join our KryptonSite Vampire Diaries forum here.

Testing the new blog software...

Hopefully this can be used - at least for now - to post announcements tying in to the shows featured on KryptonSite Network websites.

This is an exciting time as - with the recent announcement that V will be premiering on November 3 and airing on Tuesdays - there will soon be a KryptonSite Network show for every night of the week!

Mondays will give us Heroes at 8PM on NBC. The fourth season will premiere on September 21, 2009.

On Tuesdays, as previously mentioned, V will start on November 3.

Human Target will air on Wednesdays starting in January 2010. The show is based on the DC Comic of the same name.

The Vampire Diaries takes Smallville's old Thursday night slot preceding Supernatural. The show premieres September 10.

Finally, Smallville returns for its NINTH season on September 25!

Thanks as always for visiting the KryptonSite network of sites. In addition to this blog (provided it works out) you can find the KryptonSite Network Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/kryptonsite