The man who can fly can also work a camcorder, and Heroes fans can thank him for some interesting behind-the-scenes footage.

Adrian Pasdar (AP Photo/Phil McCarten)

The videos are posted under the screen name buckshotwon. Here’s Masi Oka reenacting Hiro Nakamura’s arrival in Times Square.

And here’s Hayden Panettiere acting adorable.

According to TVGuide.com, the videos were shot during the Heroes World Tour and would have continued had Bell not tripped on a footlight and sent Pasdar’s camera tumbling.

Greg Grunberg, who plays mind-reading cop Matt Parkman, talks about the videos during an interview he gave LAist during a tour of the set. He also spilled some insights into what we can expect from his character this season.

“Mind reading is just the tip of the iceberg for my character. I am much more an important part and an integral part in the history of what’s happened in a way that I didn’t expect.

“I got the scripts and I was like what? Really? Fantastic.

I love it all the time, but people have always said, “man you are kind of on the outside. You are kind of a fringe character.” I am incredibly involved in the story of the show this year.

Greg Grunberg and Kristen Bell arrive for the 2007 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

BuddyTV speculates that, with the same target market and lines forming hours in advance of its midnight release, Halo 3 was poised to steal some of Heroes’ debut thunder. Sales for the hotly anticipated gamer release came in at $170 million in the first 24 hours. Heroes, meanwhile, drew 14.1 million viewers, more than it averaged last season.

It might be clearer, after the second episode’s ratings come in, whether the game’s release had an impact.

“So what is the deal with sitcoms these days?”

That’s my Jerry Seinfeld impression. Not bad, huh?

You don’t see a lot of the Sein-guy anymore, promos for his new Bee movie and events like an Oct. 11 stand-up fundraiser for Sloan-Kettering notwithstanding. It’s not like the 90s when NBC ruled TV and Seinfeld was king.

People have been writing the sitcom’s obituary since Seinfeld went off the air. Meanwhile, some pretty smart people have set out to reinvent the genre by going with a single camera and dumping the laugh track. That’s one reason why some of the sitcoms of today—30 Rock, The Office—don’t look like their predecessors—Seinfeld, Friends etc.

Problem is, not enough people are watching these new-fangled shows.

As The Hollywood Reporter points out, shows like “Two and a Half Men” and “Rules of Engagement” rule the roost, while a smarter, funnier show like The Office set a series ratings record while coming in third place last week. Read more of this entry »

We all know that Jericho is supposed to be the first mid-season replacement on CBS, and BuddyTV.com makes a good argument as to why the time is now.

Kid Nation’s ratings already have begun to slide. The show dropped 1.7 million viewers from Week 1 to Week 2. Not a good sign. Its ratings are lower than Jericho’s were.

Let’s face it. There’s more than enough “reality” television out there. OK, I’m willing to let Kid Nation run a couple more weeks, give it time to get traction. But if Kid Nation can’t survive with all the buzz there was out there for it, let’s bring back Jericho before all its buzz starts to dissipate and fade away.

I hate to advocate for the cancellation of any show, given what happened to Jericho, but this isn’t quite the same thing. I somehow doubt legions of Kid Nation fans will be lobbying CBS for the return of their beloved “reality” series if it were killed. Except, maybe, the families of the children involved.

CBS killed Jericho’s momentum by poor scheduling last season, and has admitted as such. Kid Nation is collapsing under its own weight.

Jericho photo courtesy of CBS.

Talk about worth the wait, because the season premiere of The Office was.

I mean the 131-day wait since the season 3 finale, not the 51 episodes of drawn-out, “will they-won’t they” angst between lovelorn office drones, Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly.

Oh the writers, teasing geniuses that they are, still drew things out a bit longer. We had to wait half an episode for a sign that things were not what they seemed. And it came in the form of a carpool home and a kiss caught by a telephoto lens. But the answer to The Office question of the summer – Was it really a date? – was an emphatic yes. Fancy New Beesly has come to fruition, and Jam is a reality (not to mention an insipid portmanteaux, as someone I know would say).

This episode was nearly everything we’ve come to expect from writer/showrunner Greg Daniels & Co., and a few things you wouldn’t expect Read more of this entry »

Quite a few of my coworkers agree with me: Last night’s episode was lame. Izzie treated a wounded deer? I’m all for helping out our furry creatures in distress, but to make it part of the storyline? Dumb! Seemed like a jump-the-shark moment. The double-whammy was when the patient Joey went into the hospital with a serious wound, said he’d rather have food than morphine and then started eating cotton balls, clamps and scissors. I don’t care that it’s an actual dianosed disease—something like Pica’s Disease. It was an unnecessary distraction. It was good, however, to see Cristina back to her crabby, tell-it-like-it-is self. She takes perpetual bad moods to new heights.

The only significant happening was when George went to Izzie’s house to tell her that he loves her back. Read more of this entry »

I’ve got a ton to say about last night’s season premiere of The Office, like how Chris Serico needs to go back and watch it again and appreciate its brilliance. (Really listen for the pauses, Chris.)

But I’m still formulating my premiere dissertation. In the meantime, check out this very cool little item I found at NBC.com. Like it? Go get yourself one.

(sorry, we had to remove it because it was causing viewing problems w/the blog. it was an Office video widget so you could view scenes without having to go to the office site!)

TMZ.com says the Los Angeles County City Attorney’s office has officially charged Kiefer Sutherland with two misdemeanor counts of DUI.

One is for driving under the influence and one for driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or above. He was arrested early Tuesday morning after making an illegal U-turn. Check out previous Remote Access coverage here.
More importantly, the city attorney’s office asked that his 2004 probation be revoked.

He’ll be arraigned Oct. 16 in front of Judge Michael Sauer, he of “Paris Hilton must go to jail for violating her probation” fame.

Again, thanks Hollywood Reporter, for your understandable analysis of the daily Nielsen ratings:

First off, crime dramas reigned supreme last night, giving CBS a clear win in all measures for the night thanks in large part to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Still, Grey’s Anatomy and The Office posted pretty nice numbers, too. Here are the numbers for the premieres (reminder: “the demo” refers to the coveted 18-49 demographic advertisers like so much):

• CSI, 24.8 million
• Grey’s Anatomy, 20.5 million
• Without a Trace, 16.7 million
• Big Shots, 11.6 million
• Ugly Betty, 11 million
• ER, 9.9 million
• The Office, 9.7 million
• My Name Is Earl, 8.5 million
• Smallville, 5.1 million

Just a quick hit, here.

Check it out for an homage to the movies The Simpsons has ripped off over the years.

The Hollywood Reporter reports (how appropriate, no?) that three brand-spanking-new shows have added recurring cast members to their credits:

• Elisabeth Rohm, late of Law & Order, and Ryan Devlin, who was a recurring character on Veronica Mars, are going to join Big Shots, the Titus-Vartan-McDermott-Malina vehicle. “Rohm will play Alex Mason, a TV stock analyst and love interest to Amerimart COO James Walker (Michael Vartan).” Poor girl. What a difficult role. “Devlin will play Zack Wells, a new intern at Reveal Cosmetics who sparks the interest of Cameron Collinsworth (Peyton List).”

• Jordan Bridges, a co-star on NBC’s short-lived Conviction (anyone out there even heard of it?), is joining Bionic Woman as “Tom, an unassuming teacher’s assistant at a prestigious university who also works for the CIA and is a potential love interest for Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan).” I’m guessing he works at the same unnamed university where Will works and that Jaime is dumping Will now that he made her all bionic and such. Hmm?

• Brando Eaton (parents fans of Marlon?) is joining Journeyman as “the younger version of the time-traveling lead character Dan Vassar (Kevin McKidd).” That’s kind of a good idea; what I wonder is if he’s going to let his younger self in on the secret. One would think no, because otherwise he’d have been expecting it. But whatever forces are at work, perhaps that isn’t an issue? Time not being linear and all.

Last night, after all these years, Clark finally decided to accept his non-human status as a Kryptonion-American, which will help him shed all those “I’m-human-just-like-you” hang-ups and let him fulfil his destiny as Superman. It probably helps that Ma and Pa Kent are no longer around—he’s finally feeling like a grown-up by not being able to ask Jonathan and Martha for advice. In fact, he will be playing a semi-parental role to his cousin Kara, 17, who will be in need of reigning in once the two get to know each other.

As for Lana’s living in Shanghai and with that dopey wig, why Shanghai? Why not somewhere a bit closer yet also removed, like Hawaii or Canada? (Actually, the Asian city would make sense for Lana’s real-like alter ego, Kristin Kreuk, who’s half Dutch and half Chinese.) With her being allegedly dead and so freakin’ far away, how will she and Clark eventually hook up, as the show’s producers say they will?

I’m all for suspension of belief, but sometimes this show carries things a bit too far. If Chloe was declared dead, complete with a toe tag, wouldn’t the disappearance of her body cause quite a ruckus, with hospital and law-enforcement people sending out the dogs to find her body? Think of the legal ramifications the Smallville medical center alone would face!

I couldn’t help but notice that the Clark clone was also wearing Clark’s trademark red, heyseed jacket, although his was blue. Will someone please get the “Queer Eye” guys on Clark’s case? Perhaps a new wardrobe will come with his new-found maturity,

I will end this post on a sassy note: No matter what happens in the storyline, it’s always a good episode of “Smallville” when a scene calls for Tom Welling to take off his shirt. I’d like to thank the writers for last night’s disrobing.

The SciFi Channel has renewed Eureka, ordering 13 new episodes to broadcast next summer.

According to a release from the network, the show will begin production in Vancouver early next year.

The channel also gave the OK for another season of “its investigative reality hit” Destination Truth.

I’ve never watched Destination Truth, described as such:

Every week, Josh Gates, a world adventurer and eager truth-seeker, and his small crew of production buddies visits a different destination around the world that is home to notorious supernatural and mysterious stories, such as the Chilean Chupacabra, as well as some lesser-known phenomena like the dinosaur-like creatures reported in the skies over Papua, New Guinea, a haunted village in Thailand, and the Wolfman of Argentina. Josh searches for evidence to either prove or debunk these stories by talking to witnesses and experts and immersing himself in the local culture.

It actually sounds kind of interesting (better than Ghost Hunters!) and I might give it a shot one of these days…

But I’m quite pleased about the Eureka pickup.

This is shaping up to be a good weekend for guilty pleasures, what with the long-awaited returns of “Stargate Atlantis” and “Brotherhood.” (More about them latter.)

In the meantime, another guilty pleasure lurks in the shadows — vampires back on the networks with CBS’ “Moonlight,” bowing at 10 p.m. tomorrow.

For folks who’ve been undead forever, vamps are having a career year. “Dark Shadows” has come to DVD, and there’s news that Johnny Depp himself will play Barnabas Collins on the big screen. (Catch me as I swoon.) Stephenie Meyer apparently trumped J.K. Rowling with “Eclipse,” the latest in her young-adult series about a teenage girl romantically involved with a vampire and a werewolf. (Interestingly, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series is also about a spirited heroine involved with a vampire and a werewolf. It’s a hard R compared to Meyer’s PG.)

And now we have Alex O’Loughlin as Mick St. John, vamp-turned-P.I. in the new CBS series. I want to love this show, since I think the vampire is one of the most protean metaphors ever. Yet I can’t. You look at “Buffy,” “Angel,” even Lifetime’s recent “Blood Ties,” and you say, “I’ve seen it all before.”

I’ve written here before about this season’s trend of having male characters involved with transsexual lovers.

You saw the subplot emerge last night on “Dirty Sexy Money” with Billy Baldwin’s aspiring Senator. It seems like this series is going to treat this relationship seriously, giving transgender actress Candis Cayne a breakthrough role.

Then there’s “Big Shots” (which premieres tonight) and “30 Rock,” which both use the matter as a springboard for jokes.

Now comes word—via the Hollywood Reporter—that Joseph Fiennes, Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner have been cast in an untitled transsexual drama for FX.

The project—by “Nip/Tuck” creator Ryan Murphy—is about a family man (Fiennes) who decides to have a sex change operation.

(Danner and Wagner would play his parents. )

(Photo of Cayne courtesy of ABC; photo of Fiennes from EOnline.com)

Here’s the Wednesday premiere ratings, via The Hollywood Reporter:

Bionic Woman lost in total ratings to the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, but in the key “demo” (adults 18-49), defeated Addison & Co., so it’s pretty much a wash. But ABC won the night (just barely, by a 10th of a ratings point!) in part because of a THIRD CONSECUTIVE NIGHT of Dancing With the Stars. What? How many freakin’ nights can this show air?

Anyway, here’s how all the new shows fared last night:

Only someone who’s been in a coma for about a year wouldn’t know that I’ve been very much looking forward to the Bionic Woman remake.

I’ve never seen even five minutes of the original 1970s series starring Lindsay Wagner, but this remake was headed by David Eick, who is part of the team that so brilliantly remade Battlestar Galactica. Honestly, there are other executive producers, but I’ve kind of had tunnel vision on this one and as long as Eick was on board, so was I. I can be kind of loyal that way.

So I got ticked off when I read reviews of the pilot that were less than flattering. I can be kind of loyal that way.

And the first couple minutes of the pilot were utterly gripping. If it didn’t make you want to at least watch a little while longer, I’m not sure what you were looking for.

Anway, I was thinking about it this morning, and there were actually a few things about the pilot that did indeed annoy me, so I figured I’d break form and address those first:

The Man/Kid/Youth/Kid/Boy of Steel is back for his 7th season tonight! When left we left the denizens of the Kansas town in May, Martha had split for her new gig in D.C., Clark was up against an evil and powerful lookalike wraith, Chloe healed Lois with her meteor-freak powers but took on Lois’s wounds and collapsed in the process, Lex was hauled off by the cops, Lana confessed she was still in love with Clark and then got blown up, and the two super guys’ struggle made Reeves Dam (perhaps named in honor of former Supes George Reeves and Christopher Reeve?) break open.

The overall scenario takes a big turnaround this evening, though. Co-creator Al Gough finally said (to “Entertainment Weekly”) that (as fans with half a brain suspected) Lana didn’t die in her car bombing, adding that she and Clark will be starting a romance. Here’s my question: Will Lana remember about Clark’s true identity or will she, as frequently happens on the show, conveniently have gotten conked on the head and forgotten all about it? Also, Lois’s career takes a step up when “The Daily Planet” hires her as its new star reporter.

And according to The CW, the biggest trial for Clark will be in the form of his 19-year-old cousin, Kara (newcomer Laura Vandervoort, above). Read more of this entry »

I don’t care what you say publicly, but you cannot deny you are totally psyched for this news: Knight Rider is returning!

Variety says it’s being prepared as a two-hour pilot/TV movie by NBC. In other words, if the TV movie is successful, it’s a pilot and a series will be developed, a la Battlestar Galactica on SciFi.

How many of you recited along with the opening credits when the oh-so-serious narrator intoned (thanks to RetroJunk.com for the exact wording):

Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the powerless, the helpless in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

Remember the episode when Michael took on the bikers? Ah, good times.

“Dirty Sexy Money” premiered last night: It’s ABC’s new series about a lawyer’s love-hate relationship with the disgustingly rich Darling family.

And judging from the reviews, critics are either loving or hating the Darlings, too.

From what I’ve read, feelings about “DSM” range from this glowing NY Times review to this scathing one by Reuters. Not many middle-of-the-road critiques floating out there.

This could spell doom and gloom or super-success for “DSM.” Ratings aren’t in yet, so there’s no clue how viewers reacted.

Personally, I loved every second of “DSM”—which is better described as a soap opera than a drama. And I’m not just saying this because I heart the show’s executive producer Greg Berlanti, who grew up in Rye.

Heard of Peter Bjorn & John? I hadn’t, though apparently the indie-rock group—affectionately known as PB&J—is Sweden’s biggest musical export since ABBA.

If you’re like me, you might be unfamiliar with the band. But you’re probably overly familiar with their song, “Young Folks.”

That’s because the catchy, whistle-fueled ditty has been ALL OVER television lately. It showed up last winter on established shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How I Met Your Mother.”

And now it’s become the go-to song for brand-new programs.

It opened the premiere of “Gossip Girl” last week (it was playing as Serena stared out the train window in the first scene).