Guess who is coming to "Chuck"

Are you a fan of the tongue in cheek spy series Chuck? If so then you know that the cast has been pretty deep from time to time. Adam Baldwin has been a regular since the onset, Scott Bakula has had some walkons as Chuck's dad, but we have never been privy to just exactly who was Chucks mom. Well in the upcoming season, that blank will be filled in with none other than Linda Hamilton!

According to Mark Wilson over at the About SF blog:

• Hamilton will play Mary Bartowski, the long-time missing mother of Chuck and Ellie, joining the series as a recurring guest.

Look for this and other surprises when the series returns September 20th.

NBC shakes up it's SF schedule

As the warped IO9 put it: NBC says 'Happy Thanksgiving but we are taking away your TV'. As tongue in cheek as it sounds, IO9 is being straight. NBC's science fiction offerings are going to take a major hit come 09. Heroes and Chuck will be given a month's hiatus while the wonderfully twisted "My Own Worst Enemy" may be given the boot altogether. The new January slot will be filled with guess what....yep - a reality show....who woulda guessed! The new show is called Superstars Of Dance (I kid you not! what is it with dance shows this year! I could tirade about how silly these shows are or worse, but I will save it for now) For some brain dead reason, Knight Rider will keep it's Wednesday slot (they keep that one but pull Enemy? Sci-fi execs are not the only crack smokers it would appear!) I really have to say that My Own Worst Enemy surprises me a bit. Kind of a smart mans Chuck (I know a bit of a stretch) but no where near as one dimensional as Chuck. It is a show that I have really enjoyed from the start. It is a wonderful veicle for all involved, pulling each and every one out of type casted stereotyping. The way most of the characters had two distinct personalities was very inventive. I will be disapointed to see this one pass. But it would seem people dancing must be cheaper to produce. I won't be watching though.

<- NBC schedule changes -> via IO9

Chuck n Heroes premiers

NBC trotted out something new and something....weird for their premiers and redos of science fiction shows...well mostly science fiction. Chuck downloaded. ehhhh..... All I could think of was Jake 2.0. I mean the guy even looked like him. And Geek Squad....Nerd Herd? And are the shows drastically different? Lets see... One guy gets hurt during a breakdown of security and there is an accidental transfer of material that gives the hero a special power. Which show am I talking about? My point exactly. Nanos are out and embedded computer information is in. The only diff is the guy wants to be the manager of a big box store instead of being nsa/cia whatever. Lame....Nope, Chuck didn't work all that well for me. Although seeing Adam Baldwin doing that creepy Gman character is kind of a treat.

Heroes was a bit of a mixed bag....Don't get me wrong, it really is the 800 pound guerrilla of sci-fi shows this season. Heiro has gone back in time to find out that his childhood hero is a drunkard Englishman....that might have a comical twist in future episodes.....Mohinder and Claire's father are plotting against the "company" - that came across as pretty weak. Claire and family are trying to fit in hiding out in Texas. Claire has to prove to herself that she still has the mojo? Oh come on! LAME! Now I was just waiting for the moment that Claire's father did some violence on the big box geek manager. That my friends was a creepy / scary 10 minutes that still goes to show that for all his "I love you Claire bear" face giving, this guy is is just seconds away from being your worst nightmare. Nathan self destructing?!!! WTF?! Though kicking his mother out calling her evil made points with me. And Peter showing up inside a cargo crate chained to the wall with amnesia? I am sorry, but just how does that happen. So, a bit of a mixed bag, but all in all well worth watching again next week.