Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Everwood

Updated 6/8/06...Contains SPOILERS if you have not seen the series finale.

While it's not dead yet, especially if fans have their way, "Everwood" seems to be going the route of many a good show...cancellation. Admittedly, I didn't watch this show from the very beginning (I caught on later in the first season), but have definitely caught up over the past three years. This is such a terrific show, with great writing and characters you really care about.

While we will see an ending with some closure to the show (two endings were filmed just in case it was not renewed), there were indeed plans for the show's fifth season. According to "Watch With Kristin" at www.eonline.com, plans were made to have Sarah Lancaster's character, Madison, return to Everwood and surprising Ephram. That would have been interesting, given Ephram's realization that he still loves Amy (after all "She's his lobster")and Amy's finally coming around to realize that Ephram is who she is meant to be with. This show had a great ending (though I thought a flash forward might have been nice...maybe three years or so, to see Lily still with the Abbotts, Andy and Nina expecting, or toting a toddler, and Ephram and Amy getting married. I'm still on the fence about Hannah and Bright as he really did something unforgivable...but the growth in his character in their final scene together was perfect. Perhaps the flash forward would only have them getting together at the wedding, now that they've both grown up and have changed even more--yes I like happy endings!).

In the meantime, lets show our support for the show at this site: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveeverwood. Who knows, maybe it will get picked up for a fifth season...stranger things have happened.



Friday, May 26, 2006

Alias

Even though Alias was given a proper send-off, there were still a few lingering questions that Kristin Veitch was kind enough to post in her weekly column on www.eonline.com (BTW a great source for scoops...just read her chats!).
These answers come from Jeff Pinkner, executive producer on the show:


Q: In the finale, did Irina say, "Rambaldi is alive," "Rambaldi is love" or Rambaldi "is life"?
A: "Rambaldi is life...Through him we can live forever."

Q: What was the horizon?
A: The horizon was the Rambaldi-designed glass sphere that activated the pedestal in his tomb and then received the liquid from the hovering red ball.

Q: Did Irina fall on the sphere? In the final shot, one hand was bent behind her back after she fell. Could she have squished the ball but then have been resurrected by it? It did take a while to work on Sloane.
A: No, the ball rolled away, presumably recovered by Syd, who would have had it destroyed.

Q: Given the actions of Nadia at the end of the show, was she truly just a figment of Sloane's imagination/conscience?
A: She was his conscience. I think killing Nadia--whom he deeply loved--caused some sort of emotional/psychotic rift for Sloane.

Q: Is Sloane going to live forever under a rock, or is he eventually going to die?
A: Sloane is immortal, living forever buried 200 feet beneath the earth.


So there ya have it. Hopefully Kristin will get some answers from JJ Abrams about the meaning of the highlighted letters throughout the 5 seasons and the meaning of the number 47.




Thursday, May 25, 2006

Quantum Leap

"Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and Vanished...He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home."

And so began each episode of the fantastic show "Quantum Leap." Sam (Scott Bakula) spent 5 seasons leaping around "from life to life" including his own, his friend Al's (Dean Stockwell) his great-great grandfather during the Civil War while fixing things that had apparently gone wrong. As the shows mythology grew, Sam met and "evil leaper", Alia, and her hologram co-hort, Zooey and learned that maybe something, or someone was guiding him through time. In the series finale, Sam had leapt into a bar where he was himself, and a bartender, named Al, seemed to know more about Sam and why he was doing what he was doing. Sam learns that he can continue leaping, only now as himself rather than inhabiting someone else's body, and that he can put a very important wrong to right. It ends with Sam leaping to the home of Al's first wife (and presumably his true love) and tells her that Al didn't die in the war, but that he would come home to her (remember if you will that Al was a POW and presumed dead...by the time he returned, Beth had remarried). We are told that Al and Beth were eventually reunited and that Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home.

Alternate endings have surfaced (which I know I have seen on television, but some claim can only be seen on the internet) where we see a picture of Al, Beth and their four daughters. Many have speculated that Sam couldn't have returned home even if he wanted to, because by changing Al's past, he never ended up with the project. They've also speculated that this would have undone all that Sam changed, but the shows creator Donald Bellasario says this was not the case. Another ending (shot but never aired because of the cancellation), a cliff hanger, we see Beth and the family talking about Sam and that he had leaped somewhere beyond his lifetime. Beth asks Al if Ziggy told him, he replies NO he just knows. She tell him she bets the Bartender knows, if he is God, he would know. It concludes with Al leaping to the bar and telling the other Al that he wants to be with Sam, as a leaper, with all the risks - next thing we see is Al in a space bar in the year one could assume 2099 and he is a woman.(courtesy of www.tv.com)

There is a TV movie in development, speculating to take place 20 years in the future(there are a few details at www.imdb.com..."Quantum Leap: A Bold Leap Forward." Hopefully this will come to fruition and we'll get a little more closure as to what happened to Sam and Al.




Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Dark Angel

"Dark Angel" was a futuristic show about a young girl, Max (Jessica Alba), who had been genetically engineered and had escaped, along with others like her, from their military handlers. From the shows opening credits :
"They designed her to be the perfect soldier...
a human weapon...then she escaped.
In a future not far from now...in a broken world...
she is haunted by her past.
She cannot run, she must fight...to discover her destiny.
"

Max was aided by Logan (Michael Weatherly), a young man in a wheelchair who ran a Website called "Eyes Only." There he seeked to expose the corruptedness of their government and various mysteries.

Over the course of its two season run, many mysteries were exposed on Dark Angel. During the second season, Max brings down Manticore, but finds that she has an even more deadly enemy in a millennia-old breeding cult structured similar to the Illuminati. This has resulted in humans even more formidable than the Manticore-produced transgenics, and now this cult is trying to hunt them all down. It turns out that a renegade from the cult, Sandeman, was largely responsible for Manticore's genesis. The villain Ames White is Sandeman's son, which essentially makes him Max's brother. The series was cancelled before the producers could really play with this dynamic, however (source: Wikipedia). So what were the marks? What was the plan for Max? According to the commentary on the Season 2 DVDs, the marks on her body were a code put there by Sandeman. Apparently White's cult was planning to poison the air to kill all of the transgenic mutants, and the runes contained the cure. Books are also available that tell about the events after the finale's stand-off.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Joan of Arcadia

"Joan of Arcadia" was a terrific show about a 16-year-old who received regular visits from God, asking her to do different tasks. Joan, the titular character, was often cheeky and annoyed by God, who appeared in various forms like a Punk teen, a young girl, and and old woman to name a few. Joan never understood why God was asking her to do what he did until the end of the episode, where she would begin to learn about how we are all connected and that our actions, large and small, can make the biggest of changes.

Joan, of course, had the small circle of friends including Grace, Adam, her younger brother Luke and his on and off friend Friedman. Her family had recently been through the car accident of her older brother Kevin that had left him paralyzed from the waist down and left her mother questioning her faith. Over the two seasons, Joan's mother began to rediscover her faith (and realize that there was more going on in the world than she thought), Kevin began to create a new life for himself, her father struggled to make the world a better place and Luke just tried to get by.

The final few episodes introduced a new character, Ryan Hunter (played by "Prison Break's Wentworth Miller). Ryan seemed to be the ideal citizen, involved in not only the local school, but with the police, newspaper and community in general. Eventually he, or God (can't remember), that he could also see God, but had chosen a different path...one where he perhaps listened to someone else. God tells Joan that the past two years were practice for what was to come, preparation for her greatest challenge. Joan quickly discovered Ryan's darker side and it was clear that her greatest challenge would in some way involve him, though everyone thought he was a wonderful person.

Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to find anything concrete about what would have come in the third season. There are rumors that the show's creator/writer, Barbara Hall, will one day write a book about Joan's "greatest" challenge. I've e-mailed her without response (yet...I'm holding out hope). A poster on the Internet Movie Database claims the third season would have centered around twins--one who spoke to God, and the other the Devil, and the Devil himself (possibly Ryan?). Another website claimed that Joan's friends would eventually learn her secret and become her "army."

So nothing concrete...but I'll keep searching. In the meantime, fans can show their support at www.savejoanofarcadia.com.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Wonderfalls

"Wonderfalls" was a curious show (again aired on Fox...cancelled after only four episodes) about a young college graduate who returned to her home town only to work in a souvenir shop. In each episode, the main character Jaye, was instructed to do things by inanimate objects in the store that would come to life with the purpose of giving her instructions. It was so abruptly cancelled, it wasn't even given the honor of a cliff-hanger. Originally there were only 13 intended episodes that are now available on DVD From Amazon. All thirteen episodes have aired on the LOGO network, which is limited in availability.


From Wikipedia.com
Although the series creators had intended for the 13 episodes of Wonderfalls to tell a standalone story (perhaps anticipating cancellation after the first season), apparently the writers were already thinking as much as two years ahead. According to an interview featured on the 2005 DVD release of the series, the producers revealed that they already had plans for the second and third season. In the second season, Jaye’s therapist would document their sessions, eventually publishing a book on her, which would lead to her being institutionalized with “Jesus Syndrome” in the third season.

Angel

The series "Angel" a spin-off from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" featured the titular vampire with a soul who was struggling not only with his inner *ahem* demons but also with stopping an evil law firm, Wolfram & Hart, from destroying the world (or as we supposedly found out in one episode that Earth is Hell and they're just trying to keep it that way.

The final season of Angel brought many changes. Angel's nemesis Spike returned, first as a ghost and then as a "full-blooded" vampire. Fred was killed by Illyria's takeover of her body and Wesley was killed in the final episode (a shame too, because his character had grown so much). The final episode of the series left Angel, Illyria, Gunn and Spike fighting a horde of demons that had arisen and...that was it. We were left not knowing whether they lived or died.

Well, as it turns out, that was exactly the way the creator of the show, Joss Whedon, wanted it. In an interview with Whedon on www.zap2it.com, Whedon said the following about the untimely demise of "Angel": "It isn't the end of all things. It's not a final grace note after a symphony they way 'Buffy' was," Whedon says. "We're definitely still in the thick of it. But it is and was meant to be the final statement about 'Angel.' The point of the show is you're never done, and whoever survives the show to get that point will embody it." Though, Joss went on to say, that should Angel have survived to the sixth season, "[there] would have been some serious chaos."

So, while cancelled before it's time--and, sorry Joss--leaving us with a cliffhanger, those are the final words about the show. However, it doesn't mean it is the end of all things "Buffy" and "Angel" as rumors have been rampant about TV and big screen movies featuring some of the characters from the shows. For more information about Angel's demise, and the truth about WB's treatment of the show and reasons why it was cancelled, check out Popcorn and Twizzler's blogpost on Angel. Antha's got a great story, as well as more reviews about TV shows and movies!

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Now and Again

For "Now and Again" fans, the final episode left us with a doosy of a cliffhanger. Following a family dinner on Thanksgiving, Michael (Eric Close) decided to make an escape with his wife and daughter, with Dr. Morris and the government hot on their trail. I was able to find this article on Cinescape.com from Glenn Gordon Caron, creator of the show:

From www.cinescape.com:


THE FEELING YOU WERE LEFT WITH IN THE CLIFFHANGER WAS THAT THE SHOW’S FOCUS WAS GOING TO CHANGE TO A MAN ON THE RUN TYPE SHOW, ALA THE FUGITIVE.


We had the whole thing figured out. It would have been another two, possibly three, episode arc at the beginning of the season, but we would have gotten back to the status quo. Lisa and Heather would have been okay; would not have known that Michael was, in fact, the man they once knew. They would have known something different that would have answered a lot of questions for them, but which in fact would not have been true. The Eggman would not have been done away with, and the big confrontation was going to be between Michael and Mankind [the wrestler]. We had a whole number of ideas worked out for next year, so it was frustrating.


WOULD THIS HAVE CHANGED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MICHAEL AND THEO?


The way the thing was constructed was that, in theory, it wouldn’t have. Ultimately, without going through the whole thing, you would have gotten back to something very much approaching the status quo that you had previously.


IT’S JUST THAT YOU WOULD THINK THAT THEO WOULDN’T TRUST HIM ANY LONGER.


Exactly, but, again, with everything that was going to play out, that wouldn’t have been the case. Without giving too much away, it would have worked in the same way that it did in `Deep in My Heart is a Song`, where they completely changed the relationship. That’s where Theo basically kidnapped Michael and was prepared to take Michael home when he was in the coma, and then a week later you have the Bob Balaban show where he basically kills for Michael. In that same way, Michael was going to that sort of thing for Theo.


What was always great about the show — wow, that sounds immodest — what was always compelling, was that we were very willing to take the characters all the way to the margins in terms of their characters, because I always believed that the bonds between all of them were strong enough that you could always bring them back. That was part of what the cliffhanger was all about. You look at the cliffhanger and you think, `Well, there’s no way this is ever going back to the way it was,` but in fact there was a plan to do just that. And it wouldn’t have all just been a dream.



Ahh...so there it is. Not terribly in depth, but some amount of closure.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

John Doe

Imagine my surprise when I found this favorite replaying on the SCIFI network last night at 7 p.m.! I think Dominic Purcell ("John", currently playing Lincoln Burroughs on Fox's "Prison Break") is a great actor, and this was a GREAT TV show. For a quick recap, John was an amnesiac with incredible mental powers (it seemed as though he knew everything there was to know about everything, except, of course, for his identity)and who also only saw in black and white, except for the occasion burst of color (later leading into some sort of psychic ability). His two friends were a cop, Frank, and Digger. Over the course of the season John solved several mysteries and helped many people all while searching for the truth about himself and keeping out of the way of The Phoenix Group, an organization who, as it turns out knew more about John than John. In the series finale, it was exposed that Digger was a member of the Phoenix Group.

Purcell had recently given an interview and revealed the following:

"'Apparently I was the messiah returned," Purcell said, confirming an earlier report in Entertainment Weekly. As for the Phoenix group? 'They were working for the Vatican. ... The Catholics. They didn't want it to be revealed that the true Christ had returned.'

Purcell's character had actually either died or come near death, when all knowledge is revealed, then returned with no memory of his past life."

Purcell did not reveal, however, John's true name.

Interview courtesy of SCIFI Wire.

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures...

For fans of this show, such as myself, I was soooo angry when they cancelled. As you may recall the final episode, entitled "The Family Hour" centered around Lois and Clark's parents being kidnapped, and consequently rescued by Superman. The ending was the real shocker, when Clark awakes, hearing something no one can. Lois follows him downstairs, and into the den, where they discover a baby, wrapped in a Superman blanket with a note asking them to take care of the baby.

This abrupt ending left everyone wondering...who was the baby, was it theirs somehow (even though they had been told they wouldn't be able to have children). According to an interview with one of the show's producers, she said that the baby, a boy, would have been a descendant of Lois & Clark's from the future. The same time period Tempus was from. He gave few specifcs but said that the child was sent to the past as protection from something or someone. A side effect of his superpowers would have been excelerated aging. The intent was to cover all of this in a extended story arc at the beginning of a season 5.

So, while not as satifying as actually seeing what would have happened, as least now we have some idea.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Welcome!

This blog is dedicated to television shows that were cancelled before their time, leaving us fans wondering "What would have happened?" should the show have continued. If there's a show you'd like researched, or know an ending to a show you'd like to have posted so the rest of the fans will know about it...write to us! Share the ending that would have been with the rest of the world.