'Life' Doesn't Go On

Today's a sad day for me, as one of my favorite shows of 2007, "Life On Mars" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) wraps up the series with the finale tonight.

It's a good news/bad news type of deal.

The good news - we finally find out if Sam Tyler (John Simm) is a time traveller, in a coma-induced nightmare, or just plain mad. In addition, there is already a sequel to the series already airing in Britain called "Ashes To Ashes," focused on Sam's boss, DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), which takes place in 1982 in a slightly more politically correct England of Margaret Thatcher.

The premise of "Life On Mars" involved Sam, a cop in 2006, who gets hit by a car while working on a case. When he wakes up, it's 1973. He doesn't know how he has travelled back in time (or if he indeed has) and doesn't know if he can get back to his own time. Meanwhile, he must deal with the antiquated police methods and attitudes (and horrible fashions) of the 1970s, embodied by the old-school Hunt.

The bad news about "Life On Mars" - no idea when or if "Ashes To Ashes" starts airing on BBC America. In addition, the DVDs for both seasons of "Life On Mars" are being held up here because of music rights to all of the great music from the early '70s the series uses, so no idea when those will be out, either.

Finally, the really bad news is that my least-favorite TV hack, David E. Kelley, owns the American rights to "Life On Mars" and is re-doing the series for ABC. Given the fact that a) I hate everything Kelley has ever done, and b) nearly all British dramas that are remade by American TV networks tend to suck (comedies, from "Sanford & Son" to "The Office," have fared much better as US remakes), my expectations are nearly zero, although I do like the casting of Colm Meaney in the Gene Hunt role for the American version.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: It's reality, mostly, as a one-hour "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) squares off against a two-hour "Biggest Loser" (NBC, 8 p.m.), which is followed by a new "Law & Order: SVU" at 10 p.m.

My buddy David E. Kelley's "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.) is also new, as is "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.)

Expect the weekly blog postings to come after lunch this week, since my work schedule has been adjusted slightly.

It's Ba-ack!

Tonight marks the return of the phenomenon that keeps the good folks at A.C. Nielsen busy as "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) returns for its seventh season.

Have the show lost any appeal, or in this strike-filled TV season, will it be more popular than ever? I'm betting on the latter. "AI" draws huge ratings anyway, and with the lack of competition among other networks, it could draw new viewers.

Of course, this comes on the heels of the announcement last week that three former "AI" stars - Katharine McPhee, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks - lost their record deals, not a good way to kick off the new season of trying to create the next pop sensation.

Tonight begins with the auditions process in San Diego. Depending on your point of view, this is either the best or the worst part of "AI," since most of the hopefuls are appallingly bad. But I and others took "AI" to task last season when the judges seemed particularly cruel in their remarks. The one that stands out was Randy Jackson's belittling of a singing coach who wasn't terrible, but no doubt lost a lot of business due to Jackson's remarks. It was unnecessary; the guy wasn't a joke like William Hung was.

That being said, I do wonder why friends and family members let some of these people humiliate themselves in front of millions of people on national TV. I'd think it'd be better to do the quick hurt of letting someone know they're bad rather than having Randy or Simon rip into them.

And, of course, "AI" hasn't worked out its voting problems. Despite having more voters than those who will pull levers for Super Tuesday (a sobering thought), all it takes is one Web guy to rig a site where someone like Sanjaya gets a ton of votes and a more-deserving contestant is sent packing. Not too mention the poor taste of the viewing public, when they vote for the likes of Hicks or Fantasia Barrino as the winners. (I've listened to more renditions of the national anthem during my days as a sports writer, and Fantasia's performance was the worst by far by anyone claiming to be a professional singer).

Last year, our former music writer, Maggie Large, tracked the progress of "AI" after each installment. But since Maggie moved on to bigger and better things, The Telegraph is without a full-time music writer (and no more Amped blog) and I'm not really inclined to follow the weekly travails of "AI," so expect the occasional update rather than regular ones.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: "NCIS" (CBS, 8 p.m.) is supposedly new this week, but I'll believe it when I see it. It's followed by Part 2 of the miniseries "Comanche Moon."

NBC is counterprogramming "AI" with its exploitive reality show, "The Biggest Loser" (NBC, 8 p.m.) It's followed by a new "Law & Order: SVU" at 10 p.m.

"Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.) is supposedly new, but it was supposed to be new last week and got yanked for a repeat of "Cashmere Mafia," so who knows?

If you missed the pilot of "Reaper" (CW, 8 p.m.) the first time, now is your chance to catch up. It's followed by a new "One Tree Hill" at 9 p.m.

On cable, A&E is airing its own new reality series called "Parking Wars" at 9 p.m. You guessed it, it's about meter maids vs. illegal parkers. Man, I swear I remember a time when A&E stood for quality TV, but I'm fairly certain it was in the previous century.

Also on cable, "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.) is new, as is the penultimate episode of the wicked cool series "Life On Mars" (BBC America, 9 p.m.)

More Strike Fallout

My brother asked me a relatively complex question last night: If I were Jay Leno, how would I have handled the current WGA situation?

It's a fair question. Leno has essentially been forced to return to work on "The Tonight Show," with NBC threatening to fire the below-the-line talent (the cameramen, the sound guys, etc.) if he didn't. But doing so means cross the Writers' Guild picket lines and producing a less-than-stellar product, since he has no writers and much of Hollywood's A-list stars are boycotting the talk shows that haven't worked out a deal with the WGA.

Leno, who has been pretty vocal in his support of the union, made headlines yesterday when it was announced that he and fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will be appearing as guests on each other's show Thursday night. (Kimmel has been far less supporting of the union.)

It's difficult to answer as to what Leno should have done. By staying off the air, he strengthens the union's position but puts a lot of people out of work. By going on the air, he keeps the show going, but undermines the union's position - the more shows returning to the air without the WGA's waiver, the weaker the WGA's bargaining position is.

Fellow late night host David Letterman owns his own production company, Worldwide Pants, which produces both "The Late Show" and "The Late, Late Show" with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants struck a deal last week with the WGA that allows both shows to go back to work with full writing staffs, meaning both shows not only return to the air at full strength, but are in prime position to get the biggest names in show business as their guests.

So what would I have done in Leno's position? I'd have sat down with the union and explained the dilemma. I'd have said that my hand was being forced and I had to return to work. But what I would have done would have been to make WGA president Patric Verrone my first guest and said he had the whole first segment of the first show back to defend the union's position - essentially 10 or 15 minutes of free air time on TV's No. 1-rated talk show to plead his side's cause.

Maybe the network wouldn't have gone for this, and perhaps the union wouldn't either, but that might have been a compromise to offer.

All I know is that there really are no winners in this clash - not the viewers, not the WGA, not the networks even, since they risk devaluing their own products by putting them out there with no writers and few guests to choose from.

Meanwhile, it was made official yesterday when the Golden Globes awards show was cancelled. Instead, there will be a one-hour news conference that will announce the winners and allow them to speak with the media. On the one hand, we really don't need another awards show, and as I've pointed out here numerous times, the Foreign Press Association makes some pretty lame picks anyway.

On the other hand, the Globes are pretty prestigious, and if you win one, this might be the only time in your life you ever do. It might be nice to put on a tux or a gown and receive your statuette in front of 20 million people.

No word yet on how talks between the WGA and the producers for the Oscars are progressing.

RETURNING TO WORK: Two of TV's biggest hostesses returned to work Monday after maternity leave. Elisabeth Hasselbeck is back on "The View," while Macon's own Nancy Grace is back on her CNN Headline News program.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Last spring, the CW was floated an idea about advancing the plots of two of its series ahead four years in time as a means of avoiding cancellation. One series was the highly acclaimed "Veronica Mars." The other was the teen soap opera "One Tree Hill." Guess which one the CW decided to keep?

"One Tree Hill" airs two new episodes tonight, including the season premiere which finds Chad Michael Murray & Co. out of high school and moving on with their lives. Meanwhile, the cool mini-episode of "Veronica Mars," which found our plucky heroine as a rookie FBI agent, is condemned to float for eternity around the Internet.

OK, folks, fair warning: CBS continues to plug new episodes of its shows only to yank them for reruns at the last minute. So tonight's "NCIS" (CBS, 8 p.m.) is supposed to be a new one; whether it is or not remains to be seen. It's followed by the most ridiculous awards in show business, the People's Choice Awards, which are quite literally a popularity contest and nothing more.

ABC is all-new with "According To Jim" at 9 p.m., followed by "Carpoolers" and "Boston Legal," proof that the writers need to return to work pretty darn quick.

NBC is kicking off its newest edition of "The Biggest Loser" at 8 p.m., still for me TV's most offensive show, followed by a new "Law & Order: SVU" at 10 p.m.

The pick of the night, as always, is "Life On Mars" (BBC America, 9 p.m.)

And finally, if you missed them the first time around, now is the time to catch up with some hit shows you may have heard about. Fox is re-airing the pilots of "Bones" and "House" at 8 and 9 p.m., respectively, so now is your chance to catch them.

Late Night Shows To Return

NBC is already rolling out the ads promoting the return of "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and "Late Night" with Conan O'Brien, scheduled (right now) for Jan. 2.

Both shows had been pulled for the WGA strike, but both are set to return -- without writers. What's another name for a late-night comedy show without comedy writers? Usually, it's train wreck.

This is actually a good thing for the writers, since late-night shows without jokes for the hosts are going to wear thin real quick for viewers, and ratings are likely going to drop fast, putting more pressure on the studios to return to the bargaining table.

Meanwhile, "The Late Show With David Letterman" is negotiating individually its own deal with the WGA through Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants. Once a deal is struck, "The Late Show" would return with a full writing staff. Again, with individual deals being struck, it would again force the studios as a whole to return to the negotiations, something they have refused to do for nearly two weeks now in a gamble to try to break the union.

And once Letterman does return, he's one of the most vocal pro-union guys anyway, so it would give the writers a great forum on the air to plead their side of the strike.

AROUND THE DIAL: Some people have been asking, when will the lone filmed-but-unaired episode of "Desperate Housewives" actually return? According to TVGuide.com, Jan. 6. This is the follow-up to the cliffhanger about the tornado that hit Wisteria Lane. If you don't want to find out who lives and dies before the episode, then DON'T go to TVGuide's Web site, because spoilers are posted. ...

Not a TV item, but the new, frakkin' awesome trailer for "The Dark Knight" is posted here: http://www.atasteforthetheatrical.com. I can't believe I've got to wait another seven months for this movie! ...

MONDAY RECAP: So, I checked out "Duel" last night on ABC. Not bad, not great. Mike Greenberg was solid as a host, but enough with the freaking commercials already. It's as bad as "Deal or No Deal," where they try to make every big moment a cliffhanger by inserting another commercial. Even the contestants last night were exasperated, which was actually pretty amusing. Meanwhile, the contestants themselves seemed to be an annoying group of wankers, with the exception of the girl who is leading right now. She seems OK. The questions themselves haven't proven too difficult, either. You can check it out again tonight at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, "Journeyman" continues to show great flashes of brilliance, which makes it a shame that Wednesday's episode is the series finale. However, producers have said they anticipated this might be the end, so expect several questions about Dan's (Kevin McKidd) time-traveling to be wrapped up.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: The networks continue to horde new episodes like squirrels with chestnuts, offering them slowly and reluctantly. But CBS is all-new tonight, with "NCIS" leading things off, followed by "The Unit" and "Cane."

"Duel" is followed by new installments of "According to Jim" (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) and "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.)

NBC is all-reality tonight, continuing with "Clash of the Choirs" at 8 p.m. and followed by "The Biggest Loser" season finale at 9 p.m. Fear not, "Loser" fans; NBC is returning with "The Biggest Loser: Couples Edition" in January.

Finally, cable puts out some interesting offerings, with a new episode of "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.) But the pick of the night is the insanely clever "Life On Mars" (BBC America, 9 p.m.)

Time Travel, Part 2: Returning To 'Mars'

When it first debuted on this side of the pond over the summer, I hailed "Life On Mars" as TV's coolest new show.

Little has been said or done for me to change my opinion.

The series returns tonight for its second and final season on BBC America beginning with two episodes at 8 and 9 p.m.

Manchester cop Sam Tyler (John Simm) is a modern cop in 2006, using the latest in state-of-the-art technology and methods to catch bad guys. But a car accident has left Sam as a cop in 1973, where crime-solving is usually accomplished by one's fists.

Sam now finds himself the junior partner alongside Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), about as old school as you can get. Sam must adjust to life in 1973, full of its sexist and politically incorrect ideals, while trying to introduce a modern sensibility as he clashes with Hunt.

But the larger question is, has Sam actually traveled in time, and if so, how can he get back? Or is Sam in a coma, and everything is just a dream? Or, maybe, Sam has gone crazy.

"Life On Mars" boasts great humor in the chemistry between Sam and Hunt, in addition to the nostalgia of cop shows of a bygone era. (It also has one of the coolest soundtracks of any show on TV).

"Life On Mars" has already ended in the UK, which tends to end its shows while there is still plenty of life in them, unlike US shows, which tend to drag on. But worry not: A spinoff of sorts called "Ashes To Ashes," featuring a slightly older Gene Hunt partnered with a woman (Keeley Hawes of "MI-5") in 1980s Margaret Thatcher England, is already in production.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: The remaining few new episodes of dramatic programs continue to sputter out.

"Cane" (CBS, 9 p.m.) moves along with back-to-back episodes tonight. It will battle the mighty ABC lineup of "According to Jim" (ABC, 9 p.m.) and "Boston Legal" at 10 p.m.