It was fun while it lasted.
While it’s never a happy day when your favorite show gets cancelled (Seriously, this is coming from the TV Addict who is still smarting over the untimely demise of EVERWOOD, JACK & BOBBY, VERONICA MARS, KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL and GROSSE POINT!), both LIE TO ME and HUMAN TARGET ended their runs with 48 and 25 episodes respectively. A number, that while not ideal, is one we have a feeling FIREFLY fans would have done unspeakable things for!

You gotta give Fox credit for thinking different.
Putting aside for a moment the pick-up of THE FINDER — a somewhat less-than-thrilling BONES spin-off that we have a feeling was only given the green-light as a result of Emily Deschanel’s real-life pregnancy and creator Hart Hanson’s stellar track record — Fox will always hold a special place in our heart for being the one network that isn’t afraid of thinking different. And while we’re the first to admit that their gambles don’t always pay off, we continue to applaud them for taking chances on the likes of GLEE, BOB’S BURGERS, TERRA NOVA among others. Particularly in contrast to their Network brethren who far too often seem content with spewing out spin-offs, reboots and re-imaginations of already popular franchises.

We heart Fall TV!
While we can’t stress enough as to just how badly we feel for those fans who passionately invested their time in the handful of FOX’s shows that are now six feet under thanks in no small part to the timeslot hogging reality TV behemoth that is THE X FACTOR… we aren’t here to lay blame on our UK friends! What we are here to do is highlight one of the only upsides that come with Fox eviscerating a large portion of their Primetime sked: The unknown! Will TERRA NOVA be the small screen equivalent of Jurassic Park? Does J.J. Abrams’ ALCATRAZ have what it takes to live up to the lofty expectations set forth by LOST? Will Hart Hanson’s FINDER be able to locate the winning chemistry that turned BONES into a hit? All we know for sure is we can’t wait to find out.

What’s Next?
Another positive for the countless actors, not to mention hundreds of hard-working/talented behind-the-scenes artisans being given the proverbial pink slip are… new and exciting opportunities. No really. Things may not look too rosy now, but it would behoove those affected by last night’s bloodbath to keep in mind the following two things. Not only did showrunners Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd channeled their shock and awe over BACK TO YOU’s unexpected cancellation into MODERN FAMILY, actor Josh Gad can currently be found singing and dancing to sold-out houses eight nights a week in the Tony nominated Broadway smash Book of Mormon. Oh, and on the off chance you are one of those actors/creative types scratching your head over what to do next, Maureen Ryan has a few helpful suggestions.

FRINGE
And finally, can you really stay angry at the network that continues to renew a low-rated science fiction marvel that on any other would have been cancelled two seasons ago? We sure as heck can’t.

You Asked For It
For years, viewers have complained about the lack of original, scripted programming on the networks once the summer months hit. So unless you’re content to spend the next three months getting your jollies from BIG BROTHER or THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SASKATCHEWAN — while at the same time dooming future summer TV watchers to more of the same — you need to tune in for FOX’s one-two punch of original programming, LIE TO ME and THE GOOD GUYS.

Jason Dohring
Not only does one of our favorite VERONICA MARS alum make a triumphant return to the small screen tonight, with a killer (pun intended) guest gig on tonight’s LIE TO ME, the artist formerly known as Logan Echolls is so rockin’ in the role you’ll walk away asking how the heck Dohring isn’t headlinging a series of his own.

Colin Hanks
You liked him in ROSWELL. You loved him in The House Bunny. And despite being the son of uber-famous Tom Hanks, Colin seems to have avoided the trappings of pampered, scandal-ridden next generationers. That alone makes us wanna give his show a chance.

We’re asking nicely.
Even if LIE TO ME and THE GOOD GUYS aren’t going to go down in histroy as examples of TV’s Golden Age, it’s in the best interest of all of us to encourage original scripted programming over… what’s the phrase for which we are searching? Ah, yes, “reality crap.” So we hope you’ll consider our sincere plea that you tune in to FOX tonight. Otherwise, we just might head over to Youtube and post the entry you submitted — obviously after a night of partying — to our “OMG, I Am So The Biggest Hannah Montana Fan Ever!” contest. Bet you thought you dreamed that whole thing, didn’t you? Nope. We’ve been sitting on all the entries to that completely fake contest, waiting for just the right moment. Don’t test us!

The alternative
Two words: THE BACHELORETTE.

Because waiting until the June 13 premiere, for lack of a better word SUCKS, I’m gonna need some TRUE BLOOD scoop! — Marlee
The TV Addict: Okay, here’s the deal. Despite having already had the pleasure of sinking our teeth into the first three episodes of the new season, we are not the least bit interested in spoiling one of the summer’s true delights that is BLOOD’s trademark oh-no-they-didn’t-just-do-that moments by revealing, say… the circumstances surrounding Eric and Sookie’s first face-to-face of the season! What we will say is that creator Alan Ball may have spent a little too much time during his hiatus online because one particular scene from the premiere reads as if it was ripped directly from some very dirty wishful fan fiction. 

As an enormous fan of the books, I’m counting down the days until the premiere of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. Have you seen the pilot? And if so, what did you think? — Madison
The TV Addict: ABC’s Family’s newest summer offering is GOSSIP GIRL, meets Cruel Intentions with a dash of I Know What You Did Last Summer thrown in for good measure. Better still, complete with scantily clad teenagers, sexy British imports, and copious amounts of scandal (You would not believe what PRIVILEGED alum Lucy Hale does with a teacher. Seriously. JoAnna Garcia would not approve!), PRETTY LITTLE LIARS — which premieres June 8 at 8PM — is well on its way to becoming our official choice for this summer’s guiltiest pleasure.

As an ardent supporter of “Team Eric,” I simply have to ask: Which fandom will have a bigger smile on their face come June 13? — Melanie
The TV Addict: Again, not really something we want to spoil, except to say that regardless of what “team” you’re on — be it Eric or Bill’s — you’re in for a real treat. Particularly since not even Hollywood seems immune to these harsh economic times as evidence by what surely must have been an epic cutback in the HBO series’ clothing budget!

Any hints as to what we can expect when LIE TO ME returns? — Dave
The TV Addict: How does a VERONICA MARS alum sound? Because when LIE TO ME returns on June 7 (8PM on FOX, GlobalTV in Canada), so to does Jason Dohring. Although we should warn VERONICA MARS fans: Forget everything you thought you knew about the kinder, gentler Logan Echolls. Dohring’s role as a very-suspicious grad student is far more reminiscent of Beaver…. err Cassidy Casablancas, well, that or Dexter Morgan.

I demand at least one morsel of TRUE BLOOD scoop! — Bethaney
The TV Addict: Remember those out-of-control orgies Maryann was responsible for last season? Well as it turns out, being ‘responsible’ wasn’t exactly front of mind for one unlucky couple!

Still reeling from the BROTHERS & SISTERS car crash, please tell me Holly survives! — Amanda
The TV Addict: While we can’t tell you whether or not Holly survives, we can tell you that you’ll more than likely be seeing less of her. As according to our sources close to the production, with a shortened 18 episode order, many of your our BROTHERS & SISTERS are being asked to sit out an episode or two as a cost cutting measure in what looks to be shaping up to be the final season of this ABC series.

Just how big a role will werewolves play in the new season of TRUE BLOOD? — Sadie
The TV Addict: As we continue to keep our answers as ambiguous as possible, let’s just say that by the time the credits role on TRUE BLOOD’s third season premiere one thing will be abundantly clear: In his 173 years roaming earth, poor Bill Compton most definitely didn’t find the time to watch the Disney animated classic Beauty & the Beast.

Is ABC really desperate enough to reboot ALIAS less than five years since it went off the air? — Jenn
The TV Addict: Although we are talking about the network that thought HANK was funny, we have a feeling that E! Online may have [understandably!] let their enthusiasm get the better of them with regards to their recent story touting ALIAS’ return. That said, we do have some exciting ALIAS related breaking news to turn that frown upside-down: SpyDaddy himself Victor Garber will be returning to TV as a special guest star in the upcoming third season finale of FLASHPOINT.

Do you know how GLEE will end this season? — Riley
The TV Addict: No. but we’re willing to bet that it will involve a big splashy musical number that incorporates many of the season’s favorite numbers into one giant mash-up. 

Have you had the chance to watch any of the new pilots? — Mikey
The TV Addict: Following a very hectic May of finale after finale after finale, we’re somewhat embarrassed to admit that we’ve been on somewhat of a break from TV this past week. That said, after a week of repeats and reality to remind us what we’re missing, we pledge to start watching the stack of pilots sitting on our desk over the weekend and will begin to offer up our opinions accordingly. As the saying goes, stay tuned.

Well that about wraps it up folks for this edition of “Ask the Addict.” if you’ve got a question for the TV Addict, you can email me directly at info@thetvaddict.com or follow me on twitter @thetvaddict.

After jumping on board LIE TO ME in a special guest star capacity near the end of last season, actor Mekhi Phifer happily accepted a promotion to series regular status for his FBI agent Ben Reynolds because he simply likes to do good work, regardless of medium. “Like ER, the great thing about LIE TO ME is that you get to do an array of things, you get to run the full gamut of emotions playing a very three dimensional character.”

Known for his high octane work on both THE SHIELD and THE UNIT, it should come as little surprise that Phifer sees the addition of showrunner Shawn Ryan as nothing but one big plus. “Shawn’s a great guy and really gets what the audience is trying to see. He’s really has added a certain level of intrigue, suspense, unpredictability and action to the show this season.”

When asked what role fans might be surprised to learn was the one that got away, Phifer admits that, “Years ago, right after I had done Clockers I auditioned for Dead Presidents, and I was right there. Until Larenz Tate auditioned, who they [Directors, the Hughes Brothers] had already worked with on Menace II Society.”

To enter to win, simply share one TV-related lie in the comments below (For example, if I were to lie to you right now, I might say something to the effect that I think the CBS series TWO AND A HALF MEN is really really funny. Or, an episode of REBA is not sitting on my DVR/PVR at this very moment!)

One winner will be chosen at random and notified via email on September 3, so be sure to enter using a valid email address. Not a winner? LIE TO ME is now available on Amazon for only $33.49 and includes all 13 episodes, featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel.

5:05PM: It only took three minutes for Ryan to get in his one-and-only dig at CBS when explaining his reason for jumping on board LIE TO ME. “Not only did I really enjoy the show, after THE UNIT was unceremoniously dumped by CBS, I found myself with a little time on my hands.” Ouch!

5:07PM: Mekhi Phifer, who appeared on two episodes last season has joined the cast as a series regular this year as Special Agent Ben Renyolds who Phifer describes as “the guy with the gun and the badge in an effort to bring some of these cases home.” Added Baum, “We needed someone who wouldn’t get blown off the screen by Roth. A man, who had gravity.”

5:11PM: Star Kelli Williams promises a great start out of the gate with the season’s first episode featuring a woman with a multiple personality disorder — played by special guest star Erika Christensen.

5:17PM: First Shawn Ryan and now we find out that PRISON BREAK’s Matt Olmstead is writing for the show! When did LIE TO ME become the Ellis Island of TV series and is there any room for Rina Mimoun?

5:27PM: Ryan asks the TCA attendees to twitter that LIE TO ME wants to start a rivalry with THE MENTALIST. Something that normally we’d be happy to do, if only twitter wasn’t down right now.

5:29PM: Star Tim Roth reveals that the first season was killer in terms of the workload. But unlike ungrateful GREY’S ANATOMY star Katherine Heigl, says that it’s a privilege to be on the show and that he’s so incredibly happy to be at work.

5:33PM: Garrett Dillahunt will be back…. on FOX, with the panel revealing that he’s set to guest star on an upcoming episode.

5:34PM: The producers stress that they’re looking for world class actors to guest star, not Paris Hilton. Which is somewhat awkward considering SUPERNATURAL just announced this.

BETTER OFF TED (8PM ABC, City in Canada)
What’s worse than Ted inadvertently deleting himself from Veridian’s system? How about ABC purposely deleted BETTER OF TED from their schedule.

AMERICAN IDOL (9PM FOX, CTV in Canada)
In between commercials, pointless banter, more commercials and the results (Lil’ Round, Anoop we hardly knew ye) Season 7 contestant David Archuleta performs.

NEW & NOTABLE:
LIE TO ME (8PM FOX, Global in Canada)
Proving that some actresses just can’t get let go of the L word, or at least shows that start with the letter “L”, Jennifer BEals drops by LIE TO ME as Cal’s ex-wife, an assistant U.S. attorney who hires him to get to the bottom of an arson case in which the victim accuses a childhood friend, who’s now a famous TV reporter, of burning down his house.

LOST (8PM FOX, “A” in Canada)
Even in repeats LOST manages to raise interesting questions. Questions like the mystery that has us wondering why we still get repeats of LOST when we were under the impression that the purpose of ABC holding off on LOST’s premiere until January was to avoid such pesky retrospectives (read: clip shows). We’re just sayin’

LOST (9PM ABC, “A” in Canada)
Finally, one LOST mystery definitively solved: Ben is not Jewish. How else to explain the fact that he decided to call upon good Ol’ reliable smokey [monster] to atone for his sins on Passover rather than Yom Kippur!

AMERICAN IDOL (9PM FOX, CTV in Canada)
Moments before one of the remaining IDOL contestants [cough*cough*Scott MacIntyre*cough] has their dreams crushed in front of an audience of millions, Kellie Pickler performes the song “Best Days of Your Life.” Awkward.

THE UNUSUALS (10PM ABC, GlobalTV in Canada)
Has LIFE ON MARS ruined New York City-set police dramas for eternity? By which we mean, has Det. Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn) really transferred from vice to homicide? Or will she awaken in sixteen episodes only to discover that it was all a dream and that it turns out she’s actually locked inside a cryogenic chamber on her way to Mars. Stay tuned…

NEW & NOTABLE:
LIE TO ME (8PM FOX, Global in Canada)
Would a beautiful woman really lie to an internet entrepreneur and marry him for his money? What’s this show called again?

AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL (8PM CW)
Are we the only one’s wondering what exactly Clay Aiken is doing judging models and at an acting class?

CSI: NY (10PM CBS, CTV in Canada)
A man in shot to death in an empty theater, but Stella soon realizes that the crime was staged…. well, that and WATCHMEN really didn’t hold up at the box office.

It been established – both ratings-wise and in the press – that CBS’s THE MENTALIST is the season’s only true hit. Starring Simon Baker as a former TV psychic who helps nab murderers for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBS has a crafty knack for surrounding its procedurals around important-sounding government agencies no one has ever heard of), it plays up what BONES has been doing for awhile now, but in a tasty, poppable way, so that you have no reason to object to watching it while it’s on, but will completely forget after the fact.

Whatever recreational drug CBS has been spoon-feeding its viewers, it has become especially popular during a time when viewers want escapism they don’t have to think about. It’s TV at its trendiest: when real world problems get hairier, it gets easier. Which is fine – THE MENTALIST is the kind of breezy, set-it-and-forget-it programming that makes for a nice refresher after busying oneself over something as complicated and twisty as LOST. And that can be afforded by Simon Baker, who as Patrick Jane, reads people with such a palpable sense of glee, that you can forgive just how absurd the show’s initial premise is (his psychic facade ended after the murderer he was pretending to profile killed his family).

LIE TO ME, Fox’s HOUSE-ian approach to the forget-me-later pill, is far more cynical by comparison: also starring a cantankerous Brit (Tim Roth, whom I’d love to see in a scowl-off with Hugh Laurie), it follows a team of consultants who are trained in the science of faces — that is, they can read peoples’ faces to tell whether or not they’re lying, scared, thrilled, or whatever emotion (or lack of emotion) the script calls for.

And every episode is chockfull of facial-tic tidbits: pursed lips indicate lying; genuine smiles wrinkle the eyes. And that’s probably why so many people watch it – it invites viewers to play along, to catch the killer in a lie with the same virtuoso excitement. But really, its all a crutch: LIE TO ME is so painstakingly played out (father-daughter issues, I’m-a-professional-lie-detector-but-can’t-see-my-husband-lying-to-my-face issues) that if it weren’t for the aforementioned play at home game, it would’ve been canceled already.

CASTLE, meanwhile, while in the same vein as THE MENTALIST and LIE TO ME, is a different kind of drug: its so intoxicatingly bland that you could forget you’re watching it halfway through an episode. About bestselling mystery writer Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion), who, suffering from a serious case of writer’s block after killing off his book series’ hero, begins shadowing detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) as research for his next book, with her being the inspiration.

It’s part post-coital MOONLIGHTING, part MURDER, SHE WROTE, especially with the pilot: it opens on a recreated version of one of the murders depicted in Castle’s books, his books also being what brings the two together (she’s a closer super-fan, he’s a boffo charmer). The cases in all three of these shows are completely irrelevant, and are never, ever difficult. Like gun, gunshot wound, this man was shot! easy. So what’s supposed to draw us in are the characters, and in CASTLE’s case it doesn’t, because the chemistry between its stars is completely fabricated. They’re written to be attracted to each other, but there isn’t an undercurrent of tension.

And poor Nathan Fillion. The guy’s a great actor who just can’t get the roles he deserves. He’s better than the source material, able to convincingly play Castle as ladies’ man, doting dad, and playfully nudging partner. Katic does alright, but she has the unfortunate sense to seem exotically interesting, but is actually very boring.

It all feels too much like the franchise mystery novels Patterson and Grisham crank out each year (Patterson in fact has a cameo appearance in the pilot): after you’ve read one, you’ve read ‘em all. CASTLE isn’t the poppable TV that viewers of THE MENTALIST or even LIE TO ME would enjoy – it doesn’t have any flavor.

The Mentalist airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (est) on CBS
Lie to Me moves to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. (est) this week on Fox
Castle premieres today and airs Mondays at 10 p.m. (est) on ABC