But that's next week. And to tide you over this week I've got a super-sized edition, with more of your queries than a regular TT would offer. PLUS I have exclusive gossip from Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring - read the DS interview here, if you haven't already - down in the spoiler spot, as well as some tidbits from next week's much-anticipated Doctor Who premiere.
A mention now for a new show starting up on E4 this week called Sex In Court. Essentially it's Judge Judy but with sexual disputes between partners. If you can stomach its unashamedly explicit nature (episode one sees a woman take her husband to sex court for "unreasonable anal demands") then it's likely you'll find this to be very funny indeed. Catch it on E4 this Thursday from 10pm.
A completely different genre now but another show that needs flagging. Something For The Weekend, Sunday mornings on BBC Two, with Tim 'The Legend' Lovejoy. Essentially it's a two-hour advert for other BBC programmes but it's a super way to start your Sabbath, hangover or not.
Head to the Premiere List page (the PLP, to you and me) for all the latest dates of note; meantime you can now bookmark Tube Talk in your favourites to go straight to the latest column.
Becky: "Where are you? MIA? Kidnapped? Abducted by aliens? Got a part on EE? Trapped under the ice on Dancing on ice? Inside a big red nose? Missing the talk :("
Neil: I did get a part on a Donny Osmond gameshow but that's a story for a few weeks' time. As I said at the top of the column, I realise I've been a bad boy but things are back on track now - and I do have some great stuff for you from next Friday (the new new Tube Talk day), promise.
Stuart: "Brilliant column. I look forward to reading it everyweek. When do Channel 4 / E4 paln on airing JJ Abrams new series What About Brian?"
Neil: As some of you may know, C4 actually picked up this show a long time ago but struggled to find a suitable slot. Now it finally has one, albeit on E4 only. Check it out later this summer (along with brand new My Name Is Earl - finally).
Gareth: "Hi Neil, have you heard any news on if/when Channel 4 will be showing the final season of Will and Grace as they seem to be taking their time about it."
Neil: Another series that has finally found a spot in the schedules. It airs on C4 from June and it's a corker - a hilarious premiere that actually aired live in the US and a supersized series finale that includes an exchange of stunning vocals between two of the characters.
Michael: "JOEY! JOEY! JOEY! I know how you feel about the show but I was just wondering if you had any exact dates for Season Two yet? JOEY! JOEY! JOEY!"
Neil: OK, Michael. MICHAEL! MICHAEL! MICHAEL! Season two plays out in double bills at 7pm on Sundays beginning April 29. New Everybody Hates Chris precedes it - also in double bills - from the same date. MICHAEL! MICHAEL! MICHAEL!
Richard Eglen: "I see season 4 of the superb Cold Case has started screening in the US. Any idea of a start date here and will it still be on Sky One ? Also any chance of a DVD release of the show ?"
Neil: No DVD release in the works right now, but season four is now playing out Thursday nights at 10 after Bones.
Nat: "Have the big bosses at E4 decided if they're having the next series of Ghost Whisperer?? And if they have then when will it air?"
Neil: Living won the rights to the second season which is a shame for E4, for it did nice little business for them on Wednesday nights. Incidentally the first season is currently replaying on abc1, Tuesday nights at 10pm.
Dave Blyth: "Any idea when The Apprentice will return to BBC ?"
Neil: It's back from this Wednesday at 9pm, and it's certainly an interesting bunch. Click here to read the exclusive DS chat with Sir Alan.
Mick: "Hi Neil, Just wanting to know firstly how courtney cox's new show Dirt is fairing in the american ratings and also if there are any plans for it airing in the UK?"
Neil: It's been getting around 2 million viewers in the US, where the season finale (with Jennifer Aniston) airs next week. Five Life has picked it up in the UK and plans to air it from the summer.
Ajayrious: "Hi, do you know if "The Games" will be back this year?"
Neil: The Games has had its day, according to C4 commissioner Danny Cohen. Although the reality show did respectable numbers for the channel, they felt the format was no longer fresh four years on. I suspect production costs were a factor too.
Surface, surface, surface.Regular readers will know of my love of this show from last season - and my subsequent heartbreak when it was brutally axed by those fools over at NBC.
Anyway, I digress. The complete series is now being released on DVD over here and this week I have SEVEN copies of the set to give away.
The prize is legendary and the question is simple, so what are you waiting for? Click here to enter!
Fiona: "When is Studio 60 coming to More 4? I thought it was supposed to be January. I'm a huge West Wing fan and I'm really looking forward to this. Please don't be the bearer of bad news!"
Neil: It's coming to Channel 4 in June!
Stevie: "Hi Neil. Absolutely loved Five Days on BBC One although was surprised to find myself not liking a character played by Sarah Smart for once!!! Can you let me know how it did in the ratings? Also, I imagine it's very unlikely but is there any chance of a second series focussing on a different crime? Cheers."
Neil: It did quite well, around 6 million viewers. A second series is under consideration but details are sketchy at present.
Nicola Winfield: "Hi, was wondering if any other channels show Rescue Me and Bones other than Sky now that Virgin have stopped showing Sky One?"
Neil: Alas no - so you either need to wait for the boxsets, jump ship to Sky or wait for the mess to resolve itself and for Sky One to return to Virgin (which it will do, eventually).
Paul: "Hi Neil do Sky One have any plans to double any episodes of 24 to be back in line with the one week gap with USA? USA showed an extra episode in Feb but sky maintained a single episode for same week."
Neil: With Lost and Rescue Me following on from 10pm, there's no real opportunity to close the gap between now and the end. Look for the finale to air here at the start of June.
Celia: "Hia, Just noticed your section on digitalspy, its a brill space. Can I ask about sinchronicity? I watched it last year on BBC3 by chance and got hooked because it was witty amd smart. Is it ever going to be repeated or a second series made? I really would like to hope so. I think BBC3 is a great idea, and I'm constantly amazd about what they produce for what I assumed when I first noticed it, as a useless side channel. I really hope that it being on BBC3 rather than a mainstream channel didn't hurt its ratings (as it deserves them), which in turn may have affected whether they decided to continue it."
Neil: It did okay numbers, but not enough for them to commission a second series, sadly. Repeats will probably happen at some point (as they did recently) or, if you've got HD, it's being repeated ad nauseum on the BBC HD channel.
Renee: "Could kiss you Neil. There are no words to describe how fantastic Heroes is. Confused about Niki Sanders though. Isn't she just suffering from a case of schizophrenia (split personality disorder)? Anyway, my question is about LOST. What are the ratings like for season 3? I'm really just finding it quite boring lately. Its lost the grip factor it had in both season 1 & 2. Does it get it back or is it time to send the castaways a boat?"
Neil: There's more to Niki than meets the eye - quite literally. Lost ratings have tailed off somewhat since the second season - which will hopefully convince the people at ABC to bow to producer demands and let the next season (just commissioned, by the way) be the last.
Daniel Hunt: "Hi Neil, I see kidnapped is starting on C4, but I read that they are only showing 6 episodes, is this right? I thought in the US they showed episodes 7 to 13 on the website, so that the show had a conclusion?"
Neil: They are showing the full season, but in double-bills, so you're getting movie-sized episodes every week for six weeks. Look out for a similar show, Vanished, coming to Five US soon.
Mark Ashley: "Hi Neil. Great column! Just wondered if you had any news on The Lost Room. There has been a lot of speculation in the forums that the 3 parter may have been a pilot to a full length series... could this be true?"
Neil: It's possible, but given that Peter Krause has been cast in a new US series, his involvement is questionable.
As always, select the area to the right of each programme to read the text - but be warned that you may well be spoiled.Doctor Who: Hot goss from the Doctor Who launch now, courtesy of DS cult editor Ben Rawson-Jones: "Three magnificent gold Daleks were present at the launch, although their black leader sadly wasn't around. Did he perform one of his notorious temporal shifts back to Cardiff? Or does he not socialise with his fellow Cult of Skaro crew?
Want a hint of something coming up in the eagerly awaited next episode 'Smith and Jones'? Ok then - here's our clue especially for you: Keep an eye on the tie, but don't clutch at straws. They can be rather nasty...
As for the second episode, you'll discover that lads have no chance of wooing Martha without a decent grasp of oral hygeine..." Doctor Who premieres Saturday, March 31 at 7pm on BBC One
Prison Break: As promised, here are some bonus Q&As from PB creator Paul Scheuring. Having teased us about a more "brutal" third season, I wanted to know more...
Will you be following the lives of lots of characters next season again, as you did in this one?
"Only if they are directly related to the main story. There will be no tangential stories, as there was in season two."
LJ seems to be a slightly underused character to date - is there any more to come from him?
"Some. Linc obviously has unresolved issues with him. He can't be a deadbeat dad forever."
You've killed off quite a few main characters up to now. Are there any more deaths to come? Are there any indefinitely "safe"?
"No one's safe. Not even our good friend Michael..."
Prison Break airs Mondays at 10pm on Five
Send your requests for shows to be featured in the Spoiler Spot to the usual place.
That's all for this edition. Check back next FRIDAY for more - including lots of lovely new features!
Additional reporting by Kris Green and Ben Rawson-Jones
