Who else is watching Modern Family? The show by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan is a mockumentary style comedy show that’s presently airing before Cougar Town in the States. If you haven’t checked it out and you’re a fan of shows like The Office and Arrested Development, check it out, you might like it.

The cast in Modern Family is pretty cool, with Ed O’neil (Married With Children), Julie Bowen (ER and Ed to name but two), Ty Burrell (Back to You) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class). The family dynamics can come across as a little forced at times, but overall Modern Family is some pretty funny stuff and fairly insightful at times. Bowen and O’Neil are superb in their roles and it’s good to see O’Neil back on form. What do you think of Modern Family?

NBC pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer has snagged Dr Who as its lead. Scottish actor David Tennant is set to take on the role of Rex Alexander, a Chicago attorney who suffers from panic attacks. What is it with these shows about lawyers with mental issues, Ally McBeal, Denny Crane, Eli Stone and now it seems Rex Alexander.

The show is being directed by David Semel who has previously worked on both Heroes and Life. The pilot is being footed by NBC (of course) and is hoped to do big things. Fans of Dr Who may even tune into this just to see their favorite Doctor on screens again.  Tennant will probably be pretty good at the dramedy premise of a show like this. We’ll cover it further as it approaches no doubt.

Reading and writing about TV and other forms of pop culture entertainment sometimes leads one to see patterns in upcoming genres. The last big genre in pop culture to really take off was vampires, then it was zombies and next up supernatural cowboys?

I’ve noticed over the last few months a lot of pre-production chatter about supernatural western genre shows / movies. Whether they all get made is one thing, but the fact there are so many scripts flying around at the moment within this genre may mean it’s the next big thing. What do you think?

The end of the world disaster movie 2012 looks set to become a TV series with director Roland Emerich confirming as much. The movie is set around the mythos of the Mayan calendar and how it mysteriously ends in December 2012, a hint at the worlds destruction. This has led some to speculate the end of the world is nigh (again) and has bled into other prophecies that mention December 2012 as the end of times.

The TV series based on the movie will actually take place after the events seen in 2012 and is presently being touted around as “2013″. The show will follow the lives of a group of survivors of the global holocaust, assuming ABC go for it that is.

Looks like those reptilian visitors did alright for themselves when they popped up on US screens this week. The new alien invasion series V managed a staggering 14 million viewers on its debut, not too shabby for a science fiction series.

Having viewed the episode I have to say it was a great start for the fledgling show, interesting characters, charismatic villains and of course Morena Baccarin. It wasn’t without it’s faults, mainly plotholes the size of Nebraska, but overall a nice take on a classic series. Here’s hoping it can hold onto a lot of those viewers. On a side note if you live in Australia and saw those fastracked ads on Channel 9 and you’re asking “when will V be shown in Australia”, the bad news is rumor has it it’s been pushed back to next year. Lame one Channel 9.

The premiere date for SyFy’s take on the adventures of Alice in wonderland is fast approaching, so the promo flood has begun. The reimagining of the classic Lewis Carroll tale will show December 6 on SyFy (US) and it’s looking interesting to say the least.

If you liked SyFy’s previous reimagining of the classic fairly tale, that of Tinman from the Wizard of Oz, you’re probably gonig to enjoy Alice given it’s by the same people. It’s also got a pretty cool cast. Promo below.

Movie star James Franco is set to appear on General Hospital and tongues are wagging as to just what his role will entail. As well as his stint there, Franco will also be appearing on 30 Rock. If you’re a fan of the man he’ll be on General Hospital November 20, no word yet on his 30 Rock appearance.

In James Franco related news his hot ex Marla Sokoloff is set to marry this week (November 7). She’s marrying Deadsy drummer Alec Puro. Sokoloff had previously dated Franco, who seems to have dumped her unceremoniously for “something a little blonder”, at least according to seething lyrics from a post breakup song allegedly attributed to the actor.

A famous pair of chaps as it happens, one for for being a douche to his kid and the other for being a jerk. It’s Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin who are set to take on the role. This seems odd, sure Baldwin seems to be the man of the moment given the success of 30 Rock, but after the job Jackman did last year, you’d think he’d be top of the list to return.

Martin has Oscar host experience though and is generally pretty funny, so here’s hoping the pair can make it as entertaining as last years. Producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic stated “We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars. Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”

Popular TV series Masterchef is finally being made for a US audience. The show, which has been popular in the UK for years and recently had a great debut with its Australian edition is set for the US. Fox are the folks behind the show and they’ve apparently snagged their favorite payroll jockey foul mouthed Gordon Ramsay as a judge.

Given the Masterchef format generally features a couple of judges we can all start guessing as to who the other celebrity judge will be. Maybe they’ll get in the adorable Mario Batali from Iron Chef, or for some eye candy Cat Cora? Fox has ordered 12 to 15 episodes thus far. Though I’m not usually a fan of the US remake, that is only in the case of regular series. The US can remake game shows and reality shows and make them just as good if not better, so bring on Masterchef US!.

Whenever I see Kirstie Alley I just feel some sort of pity. She’d no doubt hate that’s a complete strangers first thought, but there you go. The “Fat Actress” star is set to bring her life - Osbourne style - to TV screens thanks to a new A&E project she’s prepping at the moment.

The new show will allegedly feature Alley and her family as they go about their day to day lives. It may also feature Kirstie Alley’s own weight loss routine, one would guess that’s called The Yoyo Diet, the same diet Oprah Winfrey has been on for years. No word on when the show will air as yet, but production is set to start before the years end.

Fox21 and Platinum Studios are working together to adapt and bring to TV screens the graphic novel Gunplay. The comic is based around the story of Abner Meeks, a cursed Buffalo Soldier. It sounds like it will have a supernatural vibe to it, assuming it ever reaches production and / or TV screens.

Platinum Studios have their hands in a lot of pies, but few have come to actual fruition, particularly with regards to television production. Their most famous production is probably the scifi series Jeremiah that ran between 2002-2004. Given their comic production, it’s hardly surprising they’d be looking to tie off the two together (they also have film and TV rights for Witchblade and The Darkness on their books).

This actually sounds kind of cool, once you think about it and get over the fact it’s another bland “celebrity” led reality outing. Let’s Dance will see “celebrity” contestants re-creating some classic dance sequences from the vat of pop culture and Griffin will play host.

The fact the dances will be based on dances viewers will already be familiar with in some sense means there’s that instant connection. Viewers don’t really get this with all the other dance shows out there because they’re usually freshly choreographed pieces. Add to this Griffin and her snark and this might actually be alright.

Can’t wait to see V when it premieres this week? Well thanks to YouTube you don’t have to, you can check out an ABC primer for the show right now. It’s looking pretty cool and these first few minutes do well to set up the main characters.

Sure it’s not without it’s silly moments (outrunning crashing / exploding fighter jet - Finding one person in a busy city), but overall this looks like a classy remake of a classic sci-fi genre show. Personally I think the world could be doing with a little alien invasion, might unite us all so we stop bitching and fighting with one another. Just sayin! V premieres ABC November 3 at 8 / 7 central.

Glee seem to just keep pumping out the albums don’t they? Now it’s the turn of teacher Will Schuester (actor Matthew Morrison) to bring out a solo album. When speaking about the album Schuester suggested “I would consider it a classier Justin Timberlake album”. Wow Matt, way to big note yourself and put down JT at the same time.

I don’t know about you, but each time Mr Schuester sings on Glee, I always think… ooh weird he’s trying to be Justin Timberlake and it’s a little creepy. Guess he’s no longer trying to be, what with him being classier and all. No word on any release dates. On a side note Morrison will not be part of the Glee tour expected to take place next year. It’s probably not classy enough for him.

The guys behind action flicks Crank and Gamer are working on an hour long drama for NBC presently titled Zeroes. The show will essentially focus on a group of troubleshooters dealing with the last 60 minutes of a crisis situation.

Brian Taylor - one of the writers on the show - stated they wanted to make “a crisis show that doesn’t bore you with all of the buildup leading to the crisis… We want to drop right into it and sustain the absolute most berserk state of crisis, when all of the options have been exhausted. We want to take that last 60 minutes and sustain it for the entire show.”

Sounds like Zeroes will be the usual high octane action no brainer these guys are good at. Assuming it gets picked up, expect to see it sometime late next year (at time of writing).

Asking yourself when True Blood season three will air? Ask no longer, season three True Blood will air June 2010 and there’ll be lots happening from the get go. Not only will there be lots of new characters, we’ll also be finding out where Bill is and Sookie will be back whining and sulking. Apparently Sookie will also find out a bit more about herself this season.

Fans of Godric should also note that regardless of what happened to him last season, he’ll be back in season 3. Of course it will only be in flashbacks, but hey, better than nothing. On a side note, Aussie True Blood fans, I was in a little shop called Jay Jays yesterday and what did I spy on the racks? Official True Blood tees for 20 bucks. Get em while you can fangbangers.

What did you think of Ellen’s ‘interview’ of Kate Gosselin? I have to say I found the whole thing odd. Firstly you have Ellen making out like she knows next to nothing about the Gosselin’s because she doesn’t read magazines. Doesn’t Ellen have researchers on her show? Hey Ellen, give me a job, I’ll make sure you’re up to speed before going on the air and interviewing some reality ’star’.

Add to the weirdness of Ellen making out she doesn’t know who the Gosselin’s are, you’ve got Kate going on about how she’s the world’s greatest mom, by having digs at her douche of an ex in a very veiled manner. Then she starts talking about some expensive ring she wants and how it’s a symbol of her and the kids. The whole thing just seemed odd, odd, odd. What did you all think? It’s below if you missed it.

If this is a question that’s burned into your brains after this show was unceremoniously axed, wonder no more. The rather wonderful Keith McDuffee over at Clique Clack has been chatting to creator of Defying Gravity Mr James Parriott. McDuffee does a grand job of getting loads of things covered for us, the poor shortchanged fans. It’s a gem of a read if you enjoyed what there was of the show.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if a shows creator did this whenever a show was canceled? Then at least us loyal fans of axed shows would get some ssort of closure, instead of always wondering where the characters and stories were going to go? I’m kind of glad I didn’t get to see my favorite character - Jen - go through what Perriott suggests, she was already struggling, though it would have been good to see actress Christina Cox take on the challenge. Read the whole thing here.

Looks like grandpa Jack might have his hands full in the upcoming season for 24. If you missed the promo trailer, I’ve put it below courtesy YouTube. The actiontastic season premiere is set for January 17. Needless to say Jack is looking fit as a fiddle in the new season, as we all thought he would. He’ll soon be shooting, sweating and ass-kicking his way through the season and all will be well with the world.

I know, don’t groan, why do they need an American version when the Brit version of Being Human is so damn good. Will they never learn - Life on Mars *cough* - oh well. Here’s hoping beyond hope this turns out to be more than just a sub-par bastardized version of the original. Shall we start guessing who they might cast? How about Jamie Bamber and a few other SyFy faces. Maybe they should give the US version a byline like “Friends with Fangs”.

Yeah I know too much? Hey maybe a US version will bring the original UK version a few more fans. Personally I hope they do this show justice, it would be terrible to see yet another classy British show come out the Hollywood sausage machine all additives and no flavor (yeah I know, it was bad, but it’s been a long day).