Alyson Hannigan

TV Gal Is Over the Moon About ’Mars’

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - - Can I have a "whoo" and a "hoo"?

Alyson Hannigan is back on "Veronica Mars" on April 19. She’ll want Aaron to star in her boyfriend’s movie.

UPN is picking up "Veronica Mars" for a second season. The spunky heroine, her oh-so-terrific dad and the mishmash of television’s most eclectic high school students will be back to channel its inner-Buffy next season.

So, let’s take a moment to celebrate. Click Here Are you done? Good because, alas, our work isn’t done. I can’t remember when there were this many shows that need to be saved.

Here’s my list of shows I desperately want to see next season:

# "Arrested Development": Would FOX actually cancel the best comedy on television? As this terrific series heads to its second season finale this Sunday (FOX, 8:30 p.m.) the show is unabashedly going for it without pausing to think — will the viewers catch this reference? Will they understand the joke? Should we slow down? Is that too inappropriate? It’s easy to see why everyone in Hollywood wants in on this show. But I’m not going to lie to you. I’m quite concerned. What can you do? Go to getarrested.com and get your friends in on the fun and tune in to the season finale to catch Marc Cherry, executive producer of "Desperate Housewives," guest starring as himself.

# "American Dreams": Well, we simply can’t have the series end with Meg jetting off to Berkley to live the life of a rebel. No matter how cute Milo Ventimiglia is (and he’s pretty darn cute), I simply don’t believe that Meg would have left without even saying goodbye to Sam (a relationship I would love to see the series further explore). Set against the backdrop of "American Bandstand" and the tumultuous ’60s, the show is a throwback to another television era — a time when there were quality one-hour dramas that entertained multiple generations. This dream should live on.

# "Eyes": You know what I think the problem is? Maybe viewers just feel too exhausted to take on yet another quality drama. Well, boo-hoo. You need to start watching this show. Tim Daly thrives as punchy private eye who always knows the right way to get the bad guy. Plus, we get to see the terrific Laura Leighton again. People what more could you want?

# "Joan of Arcadia": I’ll concede that this season has been creatively uneven. The Annie Potts as the devil-in-disguise story line was dropped far too quickly. After all that build up (will she have an affair with Will? Is she Satan?) she was suddenly gone with little fanfare. But there have been shining moments — the heartbreaking death of Judith, the devastating end of Joan and Adam’s relationship, and the blossoming romance between Luke and Grace. It shouldn’t take divine intervention to bring this show back for another season.

# "Jack & Bobby": How does Jack die? Why does Bobby get into politics? How did his affair with the Vice-President begin? Can Christine Lahti continue to take it down a notch? All questions we deserve answers to. We know Greg Berlanti does family drama brilliantly ("Everwood" told us so). We know Thomas Schlamme does political dramas brilliantly ("The West Wing" told us so). All I can’t figure out is why this show has failed to catch on. I mean can you live with making "One Tree Hill" a hit and letting "Jack & Bobby" flounder. Can you?

"Judging Amy": A television week without Tyne Daly’s Maxine is not acceptable. Plus, hello, I cannot rest until Bruce and Amy get together.

What shows do you want to save this season? What shows do you wish never had been cancelled? Talk about it on the TV Gal message board.

Quotes of the Week

"This is the place where good taste goes to die." Felicia to Zach on "Desperate Housewives." Thanks to Jeff for the quote.

"It was the first taste of alcohol Buster had since he was nursing." Ron Howard as the narrator on "Arrested Development."

"Don’t get carried away you two." Simon to Paula and Randy on "American Idol." Oh, Simon, it’s too late to save Paula don’t you think?

"It’s a free for all. I think Aaron Burr got 20 votes." The President about the Democratic Convention on "The West Wing." Thanks to Amy for the quote.

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

Michael K. Williams who I loved as Omar on "The Wire" is Roberts, Vaughn’s informant on "Alias." Thanks to Rishi for catching this familiar face.

Louis recognized Ken Marino is the sleazy rival private detective Vinnie on "Veronica Mars." Marino was the inappropriate Professor Wilder on "Dawson’s Creek" and Andy on the short-lived NBC show "Leap of Faith."

William recognized Zack Ward was Jack’s best man on "Lost." Ward is best known for playing Dave Titus on "Titus."

Matthew Del Negro was Brian Cammarata, Carmela’s cousin and financial advisor on "The Sopranos." We’ve seen him this season playing one of the campaign workers for Congressman Matt Santos on "The West Wing."

Robin Sachs, the nefarious Ethan Rayne on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," played the nefarious Hans Dietrich on "Alias." Katherine was the first to recognize this familiar face.

Brian McNamara was Brad Harper, the drug-dealing doctor on "Eyes." McNamara was Luke’s dad on "The O.C." Thanks to Gav for recognizing this familiar face.

Highlights of the Week Ahead All times listed are Eastern Time for April 11 to 17

My picks for the final four (Anwar, Nadia, Carrie and Bo) are still in "American Idol" (Tuesday, FOX, 8 p.m.). Are yours?

Can we briefly discuss how stressful Tuesdays at 9 p.m. is? "The Amazing Race," "Veronica Mars," and "Scrubs" all air in the same time slot. Go ahead tell me this isn’t a plot against me. I’m a little worried that Logan (the terrific Jason Dohring) is the killer. Everyone else seems a little too obvious, but I so don’t want it to be Logan. He’s one of the best new characters of the season. This week on "Veronica Mars" (Tuesday, UPN, 9 p.m.), our intrepid hero investigates bomb threats at Neptune High.

I fear we may have gotten off a little too easy on "Lost" (Wednesday, ABC, 8 p.m.). We all kind of knew Shannon or Boone would have been killed off. My worry is that the producers are plotting another death — one that may hurt a little more. So Jack was married to Carol Vessey (what is up with Julie Bowen being everywhere these days?). My guess is that they must be divorced because the plane had barely crashed and Jack was already flirting with Kate among the wreckage. Or maybe he didn’t actually marry her (after all we never saw them pronounced husband and wife). After all, Matthew Fox does have trouble with outdoor weddings on television (just ask Kirsten). I think the episodes would be stronger if they used less familiar actors for the back stories. I couldn’t get over the fact that Swoosie Kurtz was Locke’s mom. Although she must be thrilled that the general consensus was that she looked way too young to be Locke’s mom. In this week’s repeat, we learn what happened to Michael.

As the last woman standing in Ulong, Stephenie on "Survivor" (Thursday, CBS, 8 p.m.) has been surprisingly positive. Is there any way she can survive this week? Perhaps Koror is getting a little sick of each?

I haven’t talked about this movement to put Marissa and Ryan back together on "The O.C." (Thursday, FOX, 8 p.m.) because it is so ridiculous. Both characters are stronger when they are apart. I’m totally behind Marissa having a fling with Ryan’s brother though. That’s some Julie Cooper type drama.

Okay, I was fine with "The Apprentice" (Thursday, NBC, 9 p.m.) having some embedded advertising. But last week, the group designed clothes for American Eagle by purchasing items at Best Buy with their Visa cards while the Donald told them about the latest pizza at Domino’s and plugged his own clothing line. All I have to say is, "Go, Tana."

Bill Brochtrup, the fabulous John Irvin on the late, great "NYPD Blue," guest stars on "Without a Trace" (Thursday, CBS, 10 p.m.)

In a most perfect country music moment, Dolly Parton guest stars as real estate agent Dolly Majors on "Reba" (Friday, WB, 9 p.m.). All y’all better watch.

Sometimes "Desperate Housewives" (Sunday, ABC, 9 p.m.) fails to hit the right balance of comedy and drama. And the casual way it dealt with abusive relationships in last week’s episode was a tad unsettling. Also why is Carlos suddenly so evil? And can I please have more than five minutes of Mike per episode. Thanks.

To the TV Gal Reader Belongs the Spoils

You know the rules. Don’t read if you don’t want to know.

Dean is back when "Gilmore Girls" finally returns next week. And he has words of warning for Luke about the perils of dating one of the Gilmores. Carole King also returns as the music store owner.

One of my favorites, Josh Randall (Mike on "Ed"), will play Eliot’s new boyfriend on "Scrubs." As the fourth season comes to a close, one of the show’s regular cast members will consider leaving Sacred Heart.

Daniel Roebuck joins the cast of "Lost" this May perhaps answering the question: Did the voice Boone heard on the radio say "we are the survivors" or "there are no survivors"?

Chloe hits the field on "24" and David Palmer finally returns.

Trey will definitely think Marissa is interested in him since she has been so nice on "The O.C." And the series pokes fun at itself when Ryan and Seth end up on Music Video Nation’s Spring Break 2005 show. This episode also marks the return of the Nana (Linda Lavin).

Missy will be kicked out of her parent’s home on "Jack & Bobby" and Grace will help her out. Why will Missy be kicked out of her house? Think about a controversial topic "Everwood" tackled in its first season.