Network Upfronts 2010: Pickups, Cancelations And Renewals, Oh My!

With the network upfronts next week, TV news is coming faster than I can post it, so I'll just run through a quick few things that stick out in my mind:

-Chuck has been renewed for a 4th season. Hooray! Subway sandwiches for all!

-V has also been renewed for a 2nd season. I can't believe I'm saying this, but...hooray again! The show has actually been getting good. Almost good enough for me to watch a whole episode while not reading Entertainment Weekly/working on my 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

-FlashForward has been canceled. Thanks for nothing, Joseph Fiennes! I said it once, and I'll say it again: John Cho should've been the lead. Then the show might've had a shred of a chance. Sorry, Penny Widmore.

-NBC's Rockford Files remake is DOA. Thank you, there must be a television god who doesn't like remakes either. Now, about that Hawaii Five-O...

-CBS ordered its first new show for fall: Mike & Molly. It's a sitcom about a chubby married couple. Sookie from Gilmore Girls is playing Molly. Hey, can we get Michel a show? He was pretty awesome.

-The Wanda Sykes Show has been canceled, giving network execs another excuse to say a late-night show starring a person of color will not work. Dang it! Wanda, you're one of the funniest ladies around. Fox's loss.

-The original Law & Order has been canceled. No wait, it hasn't. Wait, it definitely has. Actually, there might be a chance that it won't be. Eh, does anybody under the age of 87 really care?

***UPDATE***

Law & Order is officially done. But not to fear--NBC just ordered Law & Order: Los Angeles. I'm still waiting for Law & Order: Newark.

More to come as I hear about it...

FlashForward: Why Isn't Anyone Watching? Let Me Count The Ways.

FlashForward returned with new episodes a couple of weeks ago, and I've watched two of them. So far, it's a mixed bag.

The good, the bad, and the ugly of the new episodes of FlashForward:

The good:
-Every scene with John Cho. I'm sweating just typing his name. Geez. Whether he's arguing with his fiancée, or having a heartwarming chat with Janis, or running after a bad guy, I can't take my eyes off him.
-I love that Janis is fighting to have her future baby girl. I think she'd be a good mom. By the way, what happened to her girlfriend? Did they break up or something? I can barely remember what I had for dinner last night, let alone what happened in an episode that aired last December. Remember that, ABC, and all other networks, the next time you make your shows go on a four-month hiatus in the middle of a season.

The bad/ugly:
-Joseph Fiennes and Lloyd Simcoe (I don't know the actor's name, nor do I care). Their scenes bore me to tears. Approximately 75% of the 2nd episode consisted of Joseph and Lloyd rehashing their flash forwards: who called whom, who texted whom, who slept with whose wife when such calling/texting occurred, and what it all means, blah blah. MAN.
-You know how each episode of Lost focuses on one character, but they also show the broader plotlines going on with the other characters? FlashForward is doing that in reverse. Instead of focusing on one character, they focus on ALL BUT ONE character. In the first episode, there is no mention or appearance of AA dude and his soldier daughter. None whatsoever. Then, in episode 2, AA dude and his daughter are all over the place. But Olivia is gone. This is so bizarre and distracting, it takes away from my enjoyment of the show. Or maybe I'm just really, really neurotic.
-Can someone explain to me what happened to the Japanese girl? They spent a whole episode on the orderly dude going to Japan and knocking on doors and going to restaurants to try to find the girl from his flash forward. Now all of a sudden he's BFFs with the nanny? Visiting her and her crazy mom and gluing pennies on the wall? What?

FlashForward is currently on "bubble" status, which means it's on the verge of cancellation. Oh, FlashForward, you were so promising back in September. And now look where you are. I'm truly disappointed.

(Pictured: Janis and Demetri, my two favorite characters. Even covered in wounds, John Cho is dang hot.)

FlashForward: John Cho/Demetri Noh for the Lead!

After watching the second episode of FlashForward this weekend, I am convinced that John Cho should play the lead role. Not Joseph Fiennes. Why?

1) John Cho is hotter. Joseph Fiennes is handsome, yes, but sorta bland (for my taste).

2) John Cho is more charismatic on screen. He moves with determination. My eyes are drawn to him no matter what scene he's in or who he's with in those scenes.

3) John Cho's character has a cooler name--Demetri Noh. (And no, it's not "Mongoloid.") Joseph Fiennes' character's name didn't even register with me until the middle of episode 2. It's Mark, for the record. And his last name? Beats me.

4) John Cho's character is unique, compelling, and memorable. He's the guy who had no flashforward, yet instead of sitting around moping, is every bit as determined to find the cause of the blackouts as everyone else. He's the guy who's engaged to be married, but knows he will die, and doesn't know whether to tell his fiancee. He's the guy who just found out his death date from the amazing Shohreh Aghdashloo. What does Mark bring to the table? a) He is a recovering alcoholic who found out he will be drinking again in the future. Meh, they haven't really delved into this. b) His wife will cheat on him in the future. Okay, but this is really about his wife, not him. c) He leads the FBI in investigating the flashforwards. Okay, not fair, because he told everyone he saw this in his flashforward, so everyone accepted it and let him do it. Besides, Demetri and that FBI lady Janis (the one who finds out she's pregnant in the future) are doing most of the work. I don't know what Mark contributed to the investigation other than "Pigeon is a city in Utah."

Am I the only one who thinks John Cho is underrated? Am I the only one annoyed that a more compelling character was relegated to the #2 lead--probably because he's Asian American, and there is not a single Asian American lead role on television and there hasn't been in years and years?