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.

I love The Middleman. Unfortunately, so far it's one of those cult television shows that gets great reviews from critics and has a small but enthusiastic fan base rather than a ratings success. Creator/showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach and the ABC Family network have mutually agreed to limit the first season to twelve episodes and then see what the future holds. The network is very supportive of Grillo-Marxuach's vision, but it needs to see that there's a large enough audience to justify a second season.

Review: The Middleman, Episode 1.3, "The Sino-Mexican Revelation"

The ABC Family network show serves up yet another absurd and enjoyable episode, with a teleplay by creator/showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach, as the Middleman and sidekick Wendy Watson must rescue Sensei Ping (guest star Mark Dacascos is hilarious) of the Clan of the Pointed Stick from a secret organization of Mexican wrestlers. This show is a delightful treat every Monday.

Review: The Middleman, Episode 1.2, "The Accidental Occidental Conception"

The enjoyably tongue-in-cheek adventure show developed by former Lost staff writer/producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach based on his comic book series of the same name continues with another fun episode, this one by staff writer/co-producer Sarah Watson.

This week, the Middleman and sidekick Wendy Watson are aided by a reformed succubus as they face off against a mystical Chinese warrior with the fate of the world in the balance. There are also several clever nods to The Devil Wears Prada and Frank Herbert's Dune. I like this show a lot. It makes for something light and entertaining to watch on Monday evenings.

Viewers might notice it's broadcast in an unusual aspect ratio. I couldn't tell what the ratio was, so I went to the source and asked creator/showrunner Grillo-Marxuach on his blog. He responded, and it turns out the network is broadcasting it in the 14:9 (1.56:1) widescreen ratio instead of the more common 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen ratio. 14:9 is more commonly used in Britain, Ireland, and Australia as a compromise between 4:3 (1.33:1) fullscreen and 16:9 widescreen. The show is filmed in 16:9, though, and it will be released on DVD and iTunes in the correct aspect ratio.

Review: The Middleman, Episode 1.1, "The Pilot Episode Sanction"

This tongue-in-cheek adventure show debuted tonight on the ABC Family network. It was developed by former Lost staff writer/producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach based on his comic book series of the same name.

The story concerns one Wendy Watson (played by a rather spunky Natalie Morales), an artist and temp worker who witnesses something incredible and soon finds herself recruited by the mysterious Middleman (played by the wonderfully deadpan Matt Keeslar) to be his sidekick in clandestinely fighting various menaces.

Creator/showrunner Grillo-Marxuach wrote this episode and it was directed by supervising producer Jeremiah Chechik (director of Benny and Joon and The Avengers). It's a clever and amusing send-up of the conventions of the genre, and the actors (including 24's Mary Lynn Rajskub as a guest star) get right into the spirit of it. It's an enjoyable way to spend an hour.