TVSquad

It's about damn time. The folks behind Hulu are making deals with broadcasters in the U.K. to offer their service to U.K. residents. Hopefully as a result of this, TV Squad won't have to apologize to Brits every time we post a clip from Hulu (at least most of the time... some current American shows like Heroes won't be available in the U.K. due to rights issues).

I'm secretly hoping this also means that some British content will be available to United States viewers. It would somewhat ease my frustration with my cable provider, who can't seem to justify carrying BBC America in their channel line-up no matter how many times I ask. It would be nice to satisfy my Brit TV craving without resorting to Netflix (or, even worse, The Pirate Bay).

Given how protective both countries are of their content, it wouldn't surprise me if this deal fell through. Regulation is a bitch, but Hulu is making some pretty big bucks right now for an Internet venture and I can't see how the media conglomerates behind this deal could be that resistant to profit.

With the success of the Star Trek movie, it's no surprise that someone is trying to make a movie out of one of Shatner's other major television roles. T.J. Hooker is being adapted for the big screen.

Who could they get to fill his massive shoes for this one? The movie is intended as an action comedy, so I don't see Chris Pine as the lead. Perhaps Jack Black?

I never really watched the show, but I do recall the funny sketch from SNL when Shatner was a guest host. Hooker jumped on a car hood and was stuck there while the car continued to drive for a few states.

It would be kind of typical to not have a cameo by Shatner in the remake. After all, he didn't appear in the Star Trek movie.

I'm sure Hollywood is not done mining Shatner's legacy for the movie adaptation game. Next up, Boston Legal the movie.

Remember that Veronica Mars movie that so many people were talking about? Well, according to an interview with series star Kristen Bell, it ain't happening. She and series creator Rob Thomas pitched the idea to Joel Silver and there was a resounding lack of interest. She suggested that fans try a letter-writing campaign.

I'm kind of surprised at that reaction, given that Veronica Mars is a recognizable brand name and would be relatively cheap to make (it's not exactly laden with special effects). While I considered the series to be a Buffy clone (that solved mysteries rather than fought vampires), it was a pretty good show in the beginning.

The only show I can think of that quickly went from TV to cancellation to a movie would be Firefly and that happened because of stellar DVD sales. So, if you really want that Veronica Mars movie, along with the letter-writing campaign, start buying more DVDs of the show.

I was aware that, like fellow Star Trek icon William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy released an album or two in his day. I wasn't aware, however, that Nimoy made a music video that accompanied one of the songs on those albums.

The song is "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" and was released in 1968 (which was during his run on Star Trek) on an album called The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy. I'm surprised this video did not get more air time on MTV back in the day. Perhaps it should be considered for VH1. More info, and the video, is after the jump.

Usually I'm not a fan of reality television, but this new series has potential. ABC has ordered a new show called The Fast & the Funniest from two of the producers of Last Comic Standing.

This comedian competition would be different than Last Comic Standing because it would involve more travel and improvisation. It's easier to be funny when one is in a set location doing pre-rehearsed material. It's much harder when it's not known where the performance is and for whom.

Mind you, the description of the show is somewhat vague in the article. For all that is known, the show could be less like Last Comic Standing and more like Fear Factor. The competition could involve having the comedians eat bugs in the middle of the woods in Arkansas. Or possibly having them fight to the death with machetes. Or not.

Is there any comedian you'd like to see on this show? I vote for Jay Black.

Ordinarily I do not do a fanboy squeal when I hear of an attempt at a science fiction program revamp of an old series, but this one has Battlestar Galactica potential. Tim Minear (Angel, Firefly) is taking on a remake of Alien Nation for Sci Fi or SyFy or whatever they're calling themselves.

The original television series on Fox was one of the cases where the spin-off actually exceeded the quality of the movie it was based on. The only mistake that was made was taking the show off the air after one year (although it did spawn a set of television movies).

Tim Minear is a good choice as showrunner since he's used to sci fi shows that rely on characterization. I have to give props to Sci Fi for this decision. Hopefully it will last longer than its predecessor and be leaps and bounds better than their attempted remake of Flash Gordon.

Good news for all you Chris Kattan fans. The Saturday Night Live veteran has snagged a regular role in the new ABC single-camera comedy The Middle. He will play a car salesman alongside series star Patricia Heaton.

Based on what I've read, this sounds like one of those safe, non-controversial, family comedies that the networks love and I loathe, such as According To Jim and Two and a Half Men (nowadays I prefer sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory). As a result, I doubt we'll be seeing characters such as Mango make an appearance (that and the fact he's on a competing network to NBC and would likely be sued for doing so).

And here I thought Kattan would end up like one of those obscure SNL celebrities like Garrett Morris or Rich Hall. In a tough economy, he's got a job. More power to him.