The law lacks condiments

James: Big Love season two will be airing in the UK after HBO in America has aired at least eight episodes. HBO will be starting that run in March, so look for it over here next summer. Don't necessarily expect it to be on Five itself, however; sources indicate that they may target it exclusively to one of their shiny new multichannel assets, Five Life.

James: You're welcome. Look for it in the usual places in January 2007.

James: Sky One will start airing season two on Wednesday, November 15.

James: Hmm, quite the can of worms you've opened here, Mick. Sci Fi have an exclusive window for six months, and then non-exclusive rights against the main terrestrial networks after that. The UK terrestrial TV rights currently rest with Universal TV Distribution (another part of the NBC Universal family), who will no doubt be looking for a terrestrial partner to work with. Of the networks most likely to pick it up, ITV would seem to be the strongest candidate - Channel 4 would probably be (also) keen to run the show on E4, which the available rights wouldn't permit.

James: Please put any thoughts you may be having about C4 repeating Lost's third season out of your head; it's not going to happen. As for the re-run rights to seasons one and two, that's still being worked out.

James: Still one of my favourite shows, Grey's Anatomy is doing well on Living; indeed, it's one of the channel's most watched shows. I'm certain, however, that it would do better if viewers were allowed to fully absorb the emotional impact of a pre-advert break scene (the ones where Meredith looks stricken and the music crescendos) instead of being forced to reach for the volume control in order to mute the abominable cacophony of caterwauling designed to advertise a certain car insurance company. As for season 3, don't expect to see it on Living until after Five finish running season 2; i.e., it'll probably start on Living, therefore, next summer. It does, at least, have the virtue of being worth waiting for.

James: Excellent, I can plug the US Show Tracker, which tracks which UK channels have picked up which US shows. Five's got The Nine, Bravo has The Unit and as for Eureka - none of this Sky-inserted "A Town Called" nonsense, please - no news yet, as Sci Fi in the US only confirmed season two on October 4.

James: Crumbs, a question about a British show. Here goes: a six part drama from Impossible Pictures, "Primaeval" (yes, it's being underlined in red in Word for me as well) will follow a group of scientists recruited by the government to investigate a series of dinosaur sightings. But wait, there's more. The lead scientist, Professor Nick Cutter (played by Douglas Henshall of Sherlock Holmes fame), is tormented by the disappearance of his wife, Helen (played by Juliet Aubrey, who most recently popped up in A Good Murder, and to keep the theme going, an episode of Midsomer Murders). You'll have to tune into the show, however, to find out how Helen's wanderings are related to the prehistoric investigation. Fancy.

James: Young Vera, for whom I have a great fondness, faces some tough competition in her US timeslot, going up against Dancing With The Stars on ABC, The Unit on CBS, Law and Order: CI on NBC and House on Fox - when it isn't covering men hitting balls with bats and then running around, that is. (MyNetwork's Fashion House also airs in the slot, but as nobody watches it - sorry, Bo - Vera doesn't need to worry her head about it.) Given the aforementioned lineup of big name ratings-grabbers, that the show is averaging a million more viewers each time it airs than it did when it was on UPN last year is a pleasing sign. On its most recent outing, for example, the show equalled season-high numbers with 3.3m viewers and a 4% share in the all-important adults 18-49 demographic. Given that Game 3 of the World Series couldn't top Dancing, the show performed very well and it's unlikely The CW will be looking to do anything unpleasant with it if the numbers keep trending as they have been.

James: Five will start showing this in February. Be warned, however, that Fox has moved this show to Friday nights at 8pm, where shows generally go to die. (ABC's Extreme Makeover, for example, had only one airing in the infamous slot before snuffing it this week.)

James: Another of my all-time favourites, one can observe the goings-on at Five Hundred Boylston on Living TV. Among the highlights to look forward to: a deliciously biting send-up of Nancy Grace, the "guilty-until-proven-innocent" legal yapper currently destroying CNN's Headline News channel on a nightly basis, and more subtle-and-unexpected references to William Shatner's Star Trek career.

James: They're way ahead of you, Binita; ITV's already picked up the rights to season three.

James: Oooh, good, you asked about Prison Break. Kris did some digging on this and came up with something rather interesting about a third season... however, to answer your question, it'll be back on Five in January. As will CSI and its New York spinoff.

James: Yes, it has been picked up by Channel 4, who intend to show it on E4 in the New Year. It's doing reasonably well in its post-Desperate Housewives timeslot on ABC in the US, no doubt aided by a very talented cast including Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal (a show I pine for - well, before it went wonky in season five) fame and the ever-wonderful Sally Field.