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There have arguably been bigger stars in television history than the late James Garner, but none who ever made it look quite so easy. Garner, who reportedly died in his home on Saturday at the age of 86, first hit it big in 1957 with "Maverick," a comical Western in which he played Bret Maverick, a Wild West cardsharp who was as quick on the draw as he was with a quip. At a time when TV was dominated by Westerns — and very solemn ones, at that — Garner was happy to play the same material lighter, to occasionally be the clown or the guy who gets punched in the face, and yet always made it clear that Maverick could easily kill you if he wanted to — it just wasn't his preferred way of doing things. Garner left Maverick after only a few seasons (and had spent much of that time alternating episodes...

Charming cardsharp Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson) tangles with a double-dealing adventuress (Jodie Foster) while trying to raise the cash for a big poker game aboard a Mississippi riverboat. He's also got to contend with the villainous Angel (Alfred Molina) while James Garner, who played Maverick in the original 1950s TV series, is also on his tail as Marshal Zane Cooper. Look out for Danny Glover as Mel reteams with Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner for an enjoyable slice of Western hokum.

Like most humans presently stalking the Earth, I’ve been watching teevee ever since my eyeballs could focus. Being a fanboy collector, I do my share of possessing odd and great stuff. Sadly, there were two teevee shows I absolutely worshipped that I could not find, even from collectors who obtain their DVDs through questionable means.

The first is T.H.E. Cat, Robert Loggia’s jazz-based New Orleans cat burglar private eye show. It only lasted one season, it was in black-and-white, and each episode only ran 30 minutes. So it’s half-life in syndication was roughly the same as Lawrencium. There are some truly awful bootlegs around, 12th generation dubs of a kinescope shot off of teevee set that desperately needed rabbit ears. I haven’t given up, but the challenge is undermining my otherwise natural sense of happy optimism.

The second is Nichols, the post-western western about a pacifist who...

In the United States, it's Thanksgiving, and I wanted to take a minute to say how grateful I am to my readers for coming back every day and providing better commentary than I do, my great boss Dennis, coworkers like snicks, Louis, Brian, Lyle and all our writers and moderators. I'm amazed every day that I get paid to do this, and that people actually care what I say.

Surprising absolutely no one, Chevy Chase has quit Community, effective immediately. Since most of the series has already been shot, he'll only be absent for a few episodes at the end of the season. Chase has been pretty clear he hated doing television, and he hated his bigoted character even more.

I woke up Wednesday morning to an email from legendary activist David Mixner, who let me know that I'd made his Best of 2012 List, for Best Column. It's a bit...

The Fall of the Ponds. The Last Page. The Great Weeping. You knew it was coming, The Grand Moff Steven made it clear. Who died, who lived, and who will have a Lot of explaining to do to the parents. Spoilers abound, even more than usual, so here we go…

The Angels Take Manhattan

by Steven Moffat

Directed by Nick Hurran

The episode jumps between 1938 and 2012 Manhattan – in 1938, detective Sam Garner is asked to investigate a mysterious apartment house “where the angels live”, only to meet…himself, years older. In modern day, The Doctor is visiting Central Park with Amy and Rory, when Rory is sent backwards by a weeping angel, into the arms of his daughter River Song. How do you fight an enemy that can suddenly make you go decades into the past? Perhaps the answer in some cases is: you can’t.

The story bears more than...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

007 Magazine And Archive Ltd

007 Magazine Archive James Bond Promo Posters And Artwork #1 (not verified by Diamond), $18.00

Aazurn Publishing

Indie Comics Magazine #5, $6.49

Amryl Entertainment

Cavewoman Bunny Ranch (Budd Root Special Edition), $6.95

Andrews McMeel

Team Cul De Sac Hc, $29.99

Ape Entertainment

Kung Fu Panda #6 (Of 6), $3.99

Ramiel Wrath Of God #3, $3.99

Richie Rich #6, $3.99

Arcana Studio

Kade Mourning Sun Gn, $14.95

Truman Virus Gn, $14.95

Archaia Entertainment

Wonderland Alphabet Hc, $11.95

Archie Comics

Sonic The Hedgehog Archives Volume 18 Tp, $7.99

Ardden Entertainment

Atlas Unified #2 (resolicited), $2.99

Aspen Mlt

Soulfire Primer #1 (Cover A Michael Turner), $1.00

Soulfire Primer #1 (Cover B Michael Turner Sketch), $3.00

Avatar Press

Crossed Badlands #8 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #8 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), $3.80

Crossed Badlands #8 (Gianluca Pagliarani Torture Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #8 (Raulo Caceres Wraparound...

Universal Pictures is developing a big screen reboot of the classic James Garner television series The Rockford Files for star Vince Vaughn.

David Levien and Brian Koppelman (who penned the recently announced Runner, Runner) will script the film, with Vaughn and his sister Victoria producing through their Wild West Picture Show production company.

The Rockford Files was an Emmy Award-winning detective series about a down-on-his-luck private detective with a copper Firebird, who lived in a caravan on the Californian beach. His low-level cases were often dangerous, and sometimes he would work the case without getting paid (despite his best efforts). He was helped out by his over-protective father, his con-man friend Angel and the exasperated Detective Dennis Becker.

The show, created by ...

Click to continue reading Vince Vaughn To Star In ‘Rockford Files’ Reboot...

NBC's Rockford Files reboot just climbed to the top of my list of most anticipated fall pilots (tied with Wilde Kingdom, natch). Sources confirm to me semi-exclusively that Firefly/Dollhouse all-star Alan Tudyk has joined the cast of the David Shore-produced remake. He'll play LAPD sergeant Dennis Becker, the role played in the original by Joe Santos. As I previously reported, Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding) has been tapped to succeed James Garner as Jim Rockford. Still to be cast: Jim's pa, Rocky, and his ex-cellmate, Angel. Anyone else doing cartwheels over Tudyk's casting? I can't be the only one.

Q: Do you know if any of the contestants on Survivor: Samoa are going to be Glbt? I just checked out their profiles and at least three of the guys list things like "womanizer", "never been rejected", and "a woman's dream." Is CBS trying to overly heteroize the show that has been strategically won by at least two openly gay men (Todd and Hatch)? – Topher, Toronto, Canada

A: There are no gay male contestants that we know of (although it’s always possible someone hasn’t yet come out to the network).

Is CBS trying to “heteroize” the show? Although I love your coining of a new term, I’d strenuously argue that they’re not. In fact, we recently talked with Jeff Probst, and I’m convinced he doesn’t see the show in those terms at all.

“When you look at the long-term of the show, you hopefully have some diversity,...