One of the joys of the 2009 television season for me was getting to watch Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose and the rest of the cast of the wonderful Peabody Award winning television series on HBO entitled The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.
It was such an enjoyable show for me when it hit DVD I bought it for my collection as I eagerly awaited news along with the rest of its fans for the announcement it had been renewed for a second season. There were rumors pro and con, but no confirmation of filming for new episodes, much less word from HBO about the popular show getting a second season.
Finally came the August 2010 announcement from HBO Michael Lombardo that the show wasn't being renewed for a second season, but two feature length films were being considered.
Frankly, I and the shows fans would rather have the television series.
It's rare that you have a dramatic series featuring a predominately African descended cast portrayed in a non stereotypical manner. It's even rarer that said show is based and set in an African nation like Botswana, one of the nations that since independence in 1966, has been well run and wisely managed its mineral wealth to the benefit of its people.
If any show deserved to be on the air, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was it. But since it portrays African descended people in a positive light, it's gone.
We'll see if the feature length films based on the series get made, but not holding my breath on that one.
I was a huge fan of the Mara Brock Akil produced show Girlfriends and was more than a little upset when it was canceled. But in the process of faithfully watching it when I had the opportunity I discovered its spinoff show called The Game that debuted in 2006.
There was an April 17, 2006 episode of Girlfriends entitled 'The Game' in which Joan Clayton's first cousin Melanie Barnett has decided to turn down Johns Hopkins Med School and put her career plans on hold in order to follow her collegiate athlete boyfriend Derwin Davis. Joan of course tries to talk her cousin out of it and sticking to her plans of becoming a doctor.
The CW liked it enough to turn it into a show with debuted on October 1, 2006 with Tia Mowry playing Melanie and Pooch Hall playing Derwin. Latasha 'Tasha' Mack is played by another of my fave actresses, Wendy Raquel Robinson, with Kelly and Jason Pitts being played by Brittany Daniel and Coby Bell.
Derwin begins life as a San Diego Sabers rookie wide receiver as Melanie begins to juggle med school and being the girlfriend of a professional athlete. She is introduced to Tasha, the mother of Sabers quarterback Malik Wright and Kelly, a former Sabers cheerleader who is the wife of wide receiver and team captain Jason. Kelly is also president of the Sabers wives and girlfriends group called the Sunbeams.
They immediately advise her that being a girlfriend of a pro athlete is a full time job in itself and you have to watch out for the women that will come swarming after Derwin as the three of them become friends.
Over the three seasons it was on the CW there was plenty of drama, a lot of real life NFL athletes and Hollywood and music stars doing cameo roles on it before the show was canceled in May 2009.
It was in syndication on BET before it got canceled, and has grown more popular since it left the CW. BET has decided it wants to develop more original programming and The Game dovetailed nicely with BET's plans. After doing some negotiations, they got the green light to do a fourth season of all new episodes.
Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall will be back along with Wendy Raquel Robinson and much of the original writing team. Coby Bell and Brittany Daniel will be in recurring roles.
The storyline is also going to pick up where it left off with Derwin and Melanie now being married. But it's going to be interesting to see what drama transpires for the newlyweds, if Tasha and Kelly's friendship can be repaired or if Kelly and Jason will get back together. . The all new episodes will air on BET starting January 11, 2011 and I can't wait to get back into The Game.
Was saddened to hear that Barbara Billingsley, who played stay at home mom June Cleaver on the iconic television show Leave It To Beaver, passed away today at age 94.
You younglings might remember her as the passenger that translated jive into English in the 1980 Airplane! movie, but.my generation used to see Leave It To Beaver on reruns.
She basically became 'America's Mom' thanks to that June Cleaver role. She was also the last of the surviving women who played the mothers on those 50's family shows such as Harriet Nelson, of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; Jane Wyatt's Margaret Anderson, of Father Knows Best; and Donna Reed's Donna Stone, of The Donna Reed Show.
Leave It To Beaver started on CBS in 1957, then moved to ABC the next year until it ended its run in 1963 and lived on in syndication.
Another icon of my youth is gone. Rest in Peace, Barbara.
It was such an enjoyable show for me when it hit DVD I bought it for my collection as I eagerly awaited news along with the rest of its fans for the announcement it had been renewed for a second season. There were rumors pro and con, but no confirmation of filming for new episodes, much less word from HBO about the popular show getting a second season. 
Frankly, I and the shows fans would rather have the television series. 
