With the current eighth season of Smallville possibly being its last, the CW network is looking to the future with a show about a young Dick Grayson before he becomes Robin. Titled The Graysons, it's being developed by Smallville co-showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, along with Supernatural and Chuck executive producer Joseph "McG" McGinty Nichol. The network has greenlit a pilot episode, with a full series dependent on how well the pilot is received.

Speaking of Smallville, tonight's episode features the secret origin of Green Arrow, and an episode later this season will introduce the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Fringe is a hit for FOX on Tuesday evenings, so the network ordered an additional nine episodes for the first season to bring the total to twenty-two.

The second season of Pushing Daisies began last night with disappointing ratings. It was a surprise hit for ABC in its first season, but the network declined to order additional episodes after the WGA strike ended, preferring to simply wait for the second season. That strategy may have backfired to the detriment of a quality show.

Marvel Studios continues to develop the Thor film, which has a screenplay by Mark Protosevich (The Cell, I Am Legend). The company is currently in talks with actor/director Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Dead Again, Hamlet) to direct the film, scheduled for release on 16 July 2010. Interesting choice, but the best superhero films of the 21st century so far have been from directors like Bryan Singer (X-Men), Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins), and Jon Favreau (Iron Man), all of whom were considered "interesting choices" at first. I'd include Ang Lee, but I know I'm in a tiny minority of people who liked Hulk.

The first season of Sanctuary begins tomorrow night on the Sci Fi Channel. It stars Amanda Tapping of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and was created by former Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis staff writer Damian Kindler. Like big screen films Sin City, 300, and the upcoming Watchmen, it's filmed in a green screen environment and the sets, backgrounds, etc. are digitally rendered. Sanctuary began as an eight episode web series. The web episodes were edited together to form the two-hour first episode, with the remaining twelve episodes of the first season being new.

Tim Burton directing a new version of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts? Oh, I so want to see that when it's released on 19 March 2010. The screenplay is by Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King).

Review: Fringe, Episode 1.1, "Pilot"

Call me entertained.

Fringe is a new science fiction television show created by J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias and co-creator of Lost) and Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (the writers of Transformers and the upcoming Star Trek film).

It bears a thematic resemblance to The X-Files (incidentally, this episode was broadcast on Tuesday, the day before the 15th anniversary of The X-Files' premiere), but Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman have made their own show. One can see the touches of all three creators: Abrams brings the intrigue and an overarching mystery, while Orci and Kurtzman bring their knack for blending multiple elements (action, romance, humor) into an entertaining whole.

The premise is FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Australian actress Anna Torv) investigates mysterious events with the help of brilliant but mentally ill scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (played by John Noble, best known as Denethor in The Return of the King) and his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson).

The first episode, directed by former West Wing and Journeyman producer/director Alex Graves, is quite entertaining and very polished for a pilot episode. Much time and money (reportedly US$10 million) was spent on the pilot episode alone, and combined with its 90-minute running time makes it feel more like a big screen film.

The first new show to debut in the 2008-09 television season lives up to the hype. It might be too slick for some, but it's well-written and well-cast, the two most important ingredients for a successful television show. The behind the scenes staff is also high quality: cinematographer Michael Bonvillain and composer Michael Giacchino worked on Alias and Lost, while production designer Carol Spier is a longtime collaborator with director David Cronenberg on films like The Fly, Naked Lunch, and Eastern Promises.

I can't wait to see where future episodes, shepherded by showrunner Jeff Pinkner (a former staff writer and producer on Alias and Lost), take the characters and the premise.

Edited to add: If you missed it, FOX will repeat this episode on Sunday, September 14th at 8pm, with new episodes to follow every Tuesday at 9pm.

The first season finale of The Middleman on Monday was so completely made of awesome that I'll be sad if this clever little show doesn't get renewed for a second season. If you didn't notice it, the prop used for the phased polaron cannon in the episode was Dr. Horrible's freeze ray (and the name of the weapon is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reference)! There were also references to Escape from New York and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, among other things.

The fourth season premiere of Bones last night was pretty good, mixing humor and relationship angst into an entertaining two hours. Also, Indira Varma (Suzie Costello in the first season of Torchwood) guest starred.

After Guillermo del Toro finishes directing The Hobbit and the unnamed Lord of the Rings prequel, he'll still have a lot on his plate thanks to his new deal with Universal Pictures. He's set to direct remakes of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Slaughterhouse Five, as well as an adaptation of Dan Simmons' upcoming novel, Drood, and an adaptation of Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness is also being developed.

As excited as I am for a del Toro version of Frankenstein, my dream was to see remakes of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein done by Tim Burton.

According to Variety, Ghostbusters III is being developed with The Office staff writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky writing the screenplay. The plan is to reunite the original cast of the first two films: Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson.

The first season of Fringe, a new science fiction drama, begins next Tuesday on the FOX network. The show is the creation of J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost) and the writing team of Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, the upcoming Star Trek film), with former Alias and Lost writer/producer Jeff Pinkner serving as showrunner. It's being described as influenced by The X-Files, The Twilight Zone, and Altered States.

WildStorm is publishing a Fringe prequel comic book, and the first issue was released today. The comic book is being co-written by Zack Whedon, best known as the co-writer of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.