My Wish List for 2009

At the beginning of the year, I thought about all of the wonderful things that happened in 2008 and all of the wonderful things that were scheduled to happen in 2009. I also thought about how amazing it felt when I wished that MTV would make another season of Making the Band 4 chronicling the Danity Kane/Day 26/Donnie Klang tour and then they did. Because of this, I found myself pondering a myriad of things that I want to go down in 2009. Granted, I had done the same for 2008 and none of my wishes came true (click here to see my 2008 wishes that I am still wishing for even though there was an implied expiration date). But I have far more faith in 2009 especially when I consider the fact that one of my wishes already came true:

1. I wish for Watchmen to be released on time.



I guess I should say that I wishED for Watchmen to be released on time because Fox and Warner Brothers have already reached a settlement agreement and it has already been announced that the movie will premiere in theaters nationwide on March 6, 2009 as planned. This was a biggie for me. I would have been beyond pissed if endless legal troubles held up the release of what will most certainly because the most amazing film of all time (do I exaggerate? Heavens no!). The fact that one of my wishes came true before even a month had passed gives me the hope that I need to be strong and will my other wishes to come true, as well.

2. I wish for Fox to NOT cancel Dollhouse.

Joss Whedon’s new sci-fi series premieres February 13th on Fox. Originally slated to air at 10pm on Monday evenings after 24, Fox moved the show to the no-man’s-land of Friday nights before even giving it a chance. This was a low blow from Fox and a sign that the network doesn’t have as much confidence in the show’s awesomeness as all of Joss Whedon’s (and Eliza Dushku’s) fans do. Let’s be real—it was pretty fucked up. Fox has done this to Whedon and his followers before back in 2002 when it canceled the outerspace Western Firefly after only airing 11 episodes. Whedon fans are still bitter over this fact, and we are heading into the premiere of Dollhouse wearily. I know this show is going to be fucking kick ass if it is allowed to progress for a good long while—five seasons, maybe more. But I am scared out of my mind that Fox is just going to keep looking for the dollah dollah bills y’all and pass over the opportunity to let a genius television series develop. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

3. I wish for Shirley Manson to release her solo record.



This is one of those things that has just been floating out there in the realm of possibility with absolutely no progress whatsoever. I love Shirley, I love her voice, I love her style and all of her previous work. I know whatever songs she is working on are kick ass and I just want to hear them! Since finding out that the story of her record company demanding she re-record her album because it was too “noir” was false, I’ve become even more frustrated by the fact that there is still no album to speak of because there isn’t a real excuse. She went from working on a solo record to starring on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles in the blink of an eye. As much as I love being creeped out by Catherine Weaver’s creepy knife fingers, I think I’d love having a Shirley record more.

4. I wish for Ally McBeal and Daria to be released on DVD.

I get a little emotional over this one. Two of my favorite shows from the past are unavailable for purchase, which is unacceptable considering the fact that Flavor of Love is. I know both shows had issues over getting licensing for the music used in each episode and proceeding without those licenses was going to mean putting in new music, which would be a ridiculous and unbearable task that would destroy the integrity of the show ESPECIALLY in the case of Ally McBeal. What is even more infuriating is the fact that all of Ally McBeal can be found in other countries including the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Brazil. The UK and Ireland have a nice complete box set available to them I hear. Daria only had a couple of specials released on DVD, not even one season and not even anything in any other regions. It’s a little ridiculous. Because Shout Factory was successful in getting My So-Called Life re-released on DVD and they did a marvelous job putting together a worthwhile collector’s edition, I am putting my faith in them to get these two brilliant series released as well.

5. I wish for Ed O’Neill to guest star or join the cast of Sons of Anarchy.

I know that on one hand this is a total long shot and then on the other it’s sort of the most feasible thing I have on my list (other than the wish that has already been granted). Katey Sagal blows minds with her portrayal of the first lady of SAMCRO, Gemma Teller Morrow. People, including myself, who grew up watching her as Peggy Bundy and even as Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules, are astounded by her range and dedication to the character. Ed O’Neill, who played opposite Katey as Al Bundy on the series Married…With Children, showed up to play Cate Hennessy’s high school sweetheart on an episode of 8 Simple Rules following a longtime television tradition of casting people to create a reunion of a beloved television pair from another series (Michael Vartan and Bradley Cooper in the Kitchen Confidential episode “French Fight” being one of my favorite examples of this). I would really love for Ed O’Neill to show up on Sons of Anarchy preferably as an FBI or ATF agent who has it out for Clay and has eyes for Gemma. But I will also settle for Ed playing the head of another SAMCRO chapter or just anyone in general as long as he guests on the show.

*Images: Fox, iOffer, EpisodeGuides.com, EW.com, Star-eCentral*