It’s clear that after two seasons, that Arrow has secured serious fanboy cred, and is probably THE superhero/comic book TV show. Not only does it have a panel tonight (Friday), but it’s a part of the WB TV 3 hour sploosh fest tomorrow night at Hall H.

I wonder how many push ups Stephen Amell will do for us.

And we’re on: Arrow is CW’s most watched show for past two years, which is a dubious distinction, but a distinction nonetheless.

Damian Holbrook of WB promises that we’ll be more excited and informed about season 3 after this panel.

Special sneak peak is happening! We see Oliver going on a DATE with Felicity, and then her bruised/bloodied/definitely not dead. Diggle’s pissed. Lance is alive. Laurel and Ollie are business partners. Amanda Waller is Ollie’s captor. Roy has a new leather outfit. We meet Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh). He of course tells someone that they have failed this city.

Here’s the clip, with an added reveal of Season 3’s Big Bad, Ra’s al Ghul:

So we got Paul Blackthorne, John Barrowman, Willa Holland, Stephen Amell, Colton Haynes, David Ramsey, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim. No Emily Bett Rickards…who’s filming/breaking hearts.

Kreisberg was terrified to write season 2, the hardest thing he had to write. Didn’t know how to top the first season, and didn’t wanto to fizzle out.

Always planning for John Barrowman to be a regular in season 3. He’s used to disappearing and coming back as Captain Jack, of course.

Season 3 is already mapped out. Marc Guggenheim shows the cork boards on his phone. “Shower scene” is joked about, and Amell/Barrowman high five.

Thought the most shocking thing to do with season 2 would be a happy ending after the first season.

In Season 3, Ollie is completely embracing hero side. Amell is a champion for the show as much as Ollie is for Starling City. Made promise that the show wasn’t going to suck, and aimed to keep it. “That’s what drives us every day.” Amell is a more soft spoken gent than I’d have guessed.

Willa and Colton’s  first scene was their kissing scene. Directed to make it more “mouth to mouth.”

New Thea in season 3 completely:”I’ve been hitting the gym a little bit…that’s all I can say.” Speedy is coming, folks.

“Daddy Diggle” is the best thing I’ve heard today. Ramsey: “Does he stay with the team…or is he leaving?” Tensions heightening, stakes raised for character going forward.

John Barrowman has yet to read his scripts for what’s coming. Planning to read them in his hotel room tonight. “Can’t wait.” Clearly a huge fan and gets thrills from doing it.

Blackthorne is on the panel and he’s British, and has survived the finale. “This man has had the craziest police career.” Troof. He’s apparently the Captain in season 3. Compared to Jim Gordon. Will he be visiting the CSI’s in Central City? See below.

Episode 108 of Flash and 208 of Arrow will be a crossover event. “We’ll be seeing people from both shows crossing over.” Things that happen in Central City and Starling City will affect each other.

Who would they like to work on with Flash? Amell responds Jesse L. Martin…and not Robbie Amell hilariously. “I want to do a sandwich scene with both of them.” -Barrowman.

Felicity shows up in Central City in Flash 1×04.

Wanted to make big additions in season 3. Wanted to bring Ted Kord on the show, but apparently they have plans for him. Interesting. Got Superman instead, and apparently he has a hankering for Felicity. Insert love triangle here.

Felicity and Oliver’s first date: they go for Italian. “Weren’t trying to” fuck with people with the confessions and gonna address it. Apparently the date goes horribly (she probably ends up battered this night, because that’s how it works), however.

“It’s really cool to have the second nicest suit on the show now,” Amell jokes, in regards to Roy’s new red duds.

Merlyn is gonna want to see how much he can control Thea. Going to go for the emotional side, or at least that’s what Barrowman thinks.

Emily apparently provides the best Arrow voice impression.

Safe to say no Island this year, but we haven’t seen the last of it (because the show opens with Ollie on the island). Didn’t want to do this again: “Oh a new set of bad guys showed up on the island, how fortunate for our storytelling.” New opportunity to put in new characters, or play with characters we’ve seen.

Colin Donnell will appear in 3×02 as Tommy in some sort of flashback.

Will meet Katana this year.

Thea’s cover story for her disappearance is backpacking in Europe.

Apparently gonna be “worth the wait” when Roy and Thea see each other again. Yawn. Thea gets a haircut.

Diggle jokes that if he leaves Team Arrow, he’d go to the Suicide Squad. Diggle’s “heart is here,” and just as “invested as Oliver is.”

The secret identity stuff is the least interesting to them. Much more interesting when people know and have conversations about them. Agreed, though it’s still hilariously campy.

Apparently we’ll all be excited to see Laurel’s journey this season. Doubtful.

Unlikely pairings gonna happen? Always looking to put unique pairings together.

Favorite scenes of their compatriots? Blackthorne: I always fast forward when Barrowman’s on. Barrowman: Selfish with the railway scene when he’s shot. Holland: early season 1 scene with a Kardashian reference. Amell: last scene between Thea/Roy. Haynes: Upcoming scene in season 3, where Diggle gets pissed at Oliver that we saw in the trailer. Kreisberg: Everyone in the infamous Moira death episode.

Everyone misses Susanna, but thought it was her time to go.

Who are superheroes you’d like to see get shows, or appear on Arrow? DC Comics has been very supportive, work with Geoff Johns on Flash. Bringing Robbie Amell/Firestorm onboard. Happy with the characters we’re getting.

Stephen is asked to recite the intro. Impressive. He’s also pitting out, which makes me feel better about myself.

There’s a not-so-straight-Arrow joke following a Diggle/Ollie on deserted island, and it kills.

When asked if he can shoot an arrow that well? Amell isn’t modest: I’m really good. Of course I would win, in a contest with Katniss and Hawkeye. He can run up a wall and shoot an arrow in his target. So Arrow is real, folks.

We will see some Felicity flashbacks from her time at MIT. Know her backstory and her father. It’s not Anthony Ivo, which apparently was a rumor. The title of Felicity flashback episode is called ORACLE.

Everyone on the show is nerds/fans, and cue thanking the fans, because it’s a fan-driven show. Drink.

I’ve seen the pilot of Reign, so I think I was the biggest fan of the show in Ballroom 20.

We got Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, Toby Regbo and Laurie McCarthy (executive producer) for the panel. Over the course of the panel, I fell in love with Adelaide, who is like a British Aubrey Plaza, without being standoffish.

“Anything can happen on Reign.” I’m sure every show thinks the same thing about themselves. Also, it’s just not true.

What’s ahead for the show? Well, Francis is King, Mary is Queen of everywhere, and Francis has fathered a bastard son with Mary’s best friend, so there will be marital complications, as they explore that relationship.

Catherine will hate her new job as Queen Mother, and Follows misses her “horribly delirious marriage on fire” with Henry.

With darkness killed in season 1 (that seems impressive), the Plague is coming and will land at the castle. Not everyone will survive it (though the joke is that they’re all dead by episode 3). There’s also new power players coming to court.

In regards to Mary’s fertility: “Everyone’s interested in my ovaries.”

In case you didn’t know, pretend sex on camera is super awkward.

The moderator references Wikipedia when suggesting that Toby’s character is going to die. News flash: they’ve all been dead for ages. Toby retorts that Francis’ wikipedia page also says he has distended genitals, which is clearly not the case on the show.

The show takes “advantage of history,” using the big, dramatic signposts to create/use for drama.

If Reign was like 24, it’d use a sun dial to show the time, a concept/sketch idea I love/will never use.

I learned so many new shipping terms: Frary (Francis/Mary) and Mash (Bash/Mary). Apparently Bash and Mary’s relationship is on ice, though they’ll remain having a “special relationship” and will always be in her heart. They just won’t bang, which is Kane’s words. I thought she was like 13 on Teen Wolf, but she’s easily 23 (whoa: she is 23, 24 in August).

Kane refreshingly calls love triangles “bloody boring,” and is happy that the Bash/Mary/Francis one is squashed, and not in perpetuity. I love that she used the word perpetuity, and her opinion on this.

Catherine is getting future lovers. This is the CW, so I don’t know if that qualifies as news.

Kane thinks the costumes are awesome/uncomfortable. She’ll be crippled by the heels, but “doesn’t matter because they’re cute.” Somehow when she said that, I found it endearing rather than face-palming drivel.

We got a trailer for the second season, which involved a lot of dramatic staring and a shit load of sick people. The plague, people.

We also catch a glimpse of The Messengers, a show about 5 people who get a warning of the apocalypse (seems like it should’ve been 4, so they could’ve been the horseman, so every show can use that concept). It has the Super 8 kid and the “dreamy” dude from Revolution, as two of the five people who get visions, and maybe wings. It actually looks fairly compelling. There’s a better chance I watch it than more Reign, though I’m convinced Adelaide Kane is a star. She watches Game of Thrones, after all.

It’s the 7^th year of Warner Bros. and Comic-Con Preview Night. That means we get to see fall pilots months before they finally air, so we can talk shit or rave incessantly before most of y’all. This year’s lineup includes CW’s The Flash, NBC’s Constantine, Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go! and NOT CW’s iZombie, because of some casting changes. That certainly doesn’t bode well for the Rob Thomas show, but then again, they might be fixing the issue.

There are plenty of issues with CW’s The Flash, however, and I’m not sure they necessarily need fixing. This show really is Smallville redux, with the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator mishap as the nexus/hellmouth/Nemeton/meteor rock generator for super powered (meta-humans, they call ‘em) heroes and villains. It’s also boundlessly cheesy, and not striving for the gritty Dark Knight world that Arrow drowns itself in every week. This is Flash, which is quirky, and will make you black out drunk if you drink for every fast/speed/running pun during the proceedings.

And let’s get to them, shall we? This episode hurtles you into the plot as fast as the fastest man alive, which would be Barry Allen. He was bullied when he was a kid (because of course; his glum comment to his parents made me gag: “I guess I wasn’t fast enough.”). His Dad, Henry Allen, calls him “slugger” for some reason, clearly wanting his son to win some of these fights (instead of hoping his son would avoid getting his ass kicked). Then, lickety split, 11 year old Barry wakes up, and finds violent red/yellow electricity orbiting his mother, Nora Allen. His Dad, or the Dad (John Wesley Shipp AKA Mitch from Dawson’s Creek AKA 1990’s Flash AKA why he’s on the show), joins Barry downstairs. Then Barry finds himself blocks away. When he returns, his mother is dead, his Dad is arrested as the killer, and Barry’s life officially kinda sucks.

Now an adult/or whatever Grant Gustin is, Barry has become a CSI for the Central City police force, and he’s always late (har har). Cliché Tough Guy detective (Person of Interest’s Al Sapienza) and Detective Joe West/replacement father figure find themselves at the scene of a bank robbery (where the Mardon brothers are at it again, those hoodlums). Barry arrives, Detective West (Law & Order’s Jesse L. Martin) covers for him, and Barry proves he’s worth the wait, using some residual Mentalist magic to figure out the make and model of the car based on its tire track, while also getting a poop sample, because all bank robberies involve excrement in some form (look it up).

The “poop problem” is soon (gratefully) solved, as he tracks the shite to one of four cow farms, letting him and Iris West (Candice Patton) AKA a woman who couldn’t Friend Zone him more, to go to S.T.A.R. Labs for the unveiling of the Particle Accelerator. Iris and Barry grew up together, she wants him to find someone, but she also sees them as almost like brother and sister. Because this is the CW and not HBO, that’s not going to be a turn on any time soon. Comic readers know that Iris West becomes Mrs. Barry Allen, but it’s clear that’s a long time coming (if ever; Danielle Panabaker’s Caitlin Snow is jockeying to be this show’s Felicity Smoak, and may very well succeed). His sexual frustration is only compounded because of the presence of Detective Pretty Boy (Rick Cosnett). I won’t even bother to look up his name (okay okay, it’s Eddie Thawne; not as good). Also, and this is the biggest stumbling block: I can’t say I liked Iris West in the slightest, as she seems doomed to follow in the footsteps of one Laurel Lance.

There’s just unintended hilarious moments littered throughout the episode. Iris and Barry are watching Dr. Harrison Wells (Ed and Scrubs’ Tom Kavanaugh) speech before he accidentally (?) unleashes the particle accelerator upon the unsuspecting Central City, when Iris gets her bag stolen. “It has my dissertation!” she cries (back it up in the cloud, grrl). Barry runs after him, and while he does catch up to the douche, he gets pummeled by the laptop bag in the process. Detective Pretty Boy is there, however, to save the day. Oof.

Elsewhere, West and Tough Guy Partner track down Clyde Mardon (Chad Rook) to a farm (good on Barry!), and soon, Clyde kills Tough Guy Partner, makes his escape (“I’ve got a plane to catch”), though that turns out badly when the particle accelerator explodes, shooting energy all over Central City. It blows up the plane, electrocutes Barry, and is what one would call the inciting incident/origin/hero is born moment.

Barry wakes up 9 months later (“lightning gave me abs?” is the best line in the pilot) to Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” because guy-who-makes-toys-and-grins-more-than-the-Joker (or Cisco Ramon/the odd’s on favorite for my least favorite character) saw Barry liked her on Facebook. Whatever. It’s not long before Barry realizes the lightning gave him extraordinary power: he’s super fucking fast now, and I like that Harrison Wells, Caitlin Snow and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) all know about his gifts immediately (he does wake up in their lab, after all), as they test him in a goofy red suit that shows off Gustin’s nuts. While Barry’s learning curve is ridiculous, I suppose that makes sense given his power. Before too long, Cisco has Barry in the Flash suit, and before too long he’s fighting crime, after getting a pep talk from a certain emerald archer in Starling City (“the lightning chose you”), which made everyone in Ballroom 20 wet their pants. When both of them watch the other do their thing, they each say “Cool” in such a cheesy way that I walked out of the convention center with diabetes.

But who?! It’s clear that Barry isn’t the only one affected by the lightning storm. Nay: Clyde Mardon survived the plane explosion/crash landing/lightning bolt to the dome, and gets weather manipulation powers. Meet Weather Wizard (or “Fog Man” as I wrote in my notes), the first of Flash’s venerable Rogues (or more accurately, his brother). Hopefully it’s not a sign of things to come. Somehow, he’s even lamer than Storm. The actor is dreadful, blessed with a sneer born to be on a Most Wanted poster or mug shot, but not much else. He makes dumbass hand gestures whenever he summons “weather,” but does unfurl a pretty nifty tornado that he’s bringing directly to Century City, once he’s moved up from bank robbing.

I certainly like that The Flash is aiming to be lighter and goofier fare from Arrow, but some of the dialogue made me want to take the Flash’s lightning bolt logo and jam it in my ear drums. While they all represent traditional archetypes (and sometimes painfully so), the pilot successfully lays out tangible character dynamics and relationships, with clear paths for all of them to follow. I particularly want more Caitlin Snow, Harrison Wells and Daddy Allen. The speed effects don’t seem much different from Smallville, but they certainly have their moments, especially in the climactic scene (a Wells pep talk is all Barry needs to learn his powers). I’ll be intrigued how quick Flash delves into its Rogues Gallery and Barry’s Wall of Weird (they might as well call it that; Chloe 4 life), but the biggest hurdle has been achieved: Grant Gustin is charming, funny and bumbling. He’s like Peter Parker without the sarcastic quips. Hopefully Barry and The Flash stray away from milquetoast in its debut season.

GRADE: C+/B-

FLASH CARDS (Awesome Spoiler-y/Comic-book-y Moments):

-At S.T.A.R. Labs, there’s an animal cage broken out of, with a name tag: GRODD. Gorilla Grodd may actually not be too weird for this show, which is awesome. Apes really are taking over the planet, and if the CW can somehow cast Andy Serkis in the role, this show just won all the Emmy’s.

-The killer of Barry’s Mom is a man, wearing red and yellow. It’s pretty clearly Professor Zoom, or Barry Allen himself doing some crazy evil time travel.

-I love that Detective West finds out about Barry’s powers and is on his side from the start. It’s kind of funny that he goes from yelling at Barry to give up on his father’s innocence and his crazy theories, to believing EVERYTHING, because it’s not like Barry having powers means his father is innocent, necessarily. I also don’t like that he actually tells Barry not to tell Iris for her safety. Because lies and secrets keep people safe, as we’ve all learned.

-First there was Blur. Then there was the Hood. Now there’s…the Red Streak. I don’t think it’ll last long, since Ollie gifted Barry with the Flash nickname immediately. Thank Krishna.

-Barry and Dad have a tear-filled convo, complete with the hands against glass moment. Barry’s insistence that he believes his Dad’s innocent is all his father needs. I get that he appreciates his son’s loyalty, but WHAT?! Why is he so willing to just fester away in Iron Heights? Maybe he has his reasons…

-Harrison Wells is NOT a cripple, and clearly has some nefarious plans. Or definitely secrets. He brings up a newspaper from 2024 with the headline: “Flash vanishes, missing in crisis.” Not only is this a nod to THE Crisis of DC Comics fame, but it’s a mindfuck, and a cool glimpse of the future. CW is clearly pretty confident with the show if it’s projecting events ten years in the future. That said, I doubt this nugget doesn’t take 10 seasons to hit home.

YE BE WARNED: ARROW 2×20 SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEY.

I have never read any of The Flash’s comics. Frankly, the only thing I ever knew about The Flash was that he had a red costume with a lightning bolt and was part of the DC Universe. But that didn’t stop me from Googling until I could Google no more when ARROW made the announcement that they would introduce The Flash during Season 2 to promote his Fall 2014 spin-off. As expected, the comicfans already can’t stand the actor [Grant Gustin] that’s been cast, and although I think he’s the most precious of all the adorables I can totes understand why others may not be thrilled. However my big (and really my only) problem with this situation is: Is it really necessary for another superhero show?

SMALLVILLE, bless its heart, lasted for ten seasons. It was a fantastic run of a [mostly] wonderful show (seasons 6 & 7 did drag quite a bit) and when it ended you felt really good about it. Maybe a little shaky about the resistance and ultimate denial of giving the audience one look at Superman in all his spandex-glory, but confident that Clark Kent was moving on to do great things.

Now, with the emergence of superhero and comic-film branding taking over cinema, the push to bring our heroes to the small screen is growing, and fast. With ARROW debuting last year, it had a pretty slow start but thankfully has blossomed into a show that’s found its feet with a great cast of colorful characters (no thanks to the Lance Ladies), and such deliciously tormented villains that you can’t help but (SPOILERS!) mourn the murder of Mrs. Moira Queen. A believable blend of humans, science and super-powers, ARROW does not leave you wanting. Thus far we’ve had a phenomenal introduction of so many heroes and villains including Deadshot, the Black Canary, Sebastian Blood, Huntress/Helena Bertinelli and let’s never forget the terrifying Clock King (Robert Knepper is the MAN).

ARROW, in combination with AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (as much as possible, anyway) has fulfilled my necessary addictions to superhero drama while I [im]patiently await the next big-budget-blockbuster to come smashing into theatres (I also have a tendency to re-watch films many, many times over which does wonders for the cravings). But now, with the addition of both GOTHAM and THE FLASH hitting our idiot-boxes this fall [Ed. Note: Not to mention POWERS, HEROES 2.0, Marvel’s DEFENDERS, CONSTANTINE, maybe PEGGY CARTER, PREACHER, HOURMAN], I have to wonder when enough will be enough. Now I love super-heroes as much as any nerd, but having them forced on me from every direction is going to wear out its welcome real soon.

For now folks can’t get enough of these caped crusaders, but just like the vampire obsession that’s finally coming to a close after damn near 10 years, pretty soon it’s going to start feeling like we’re beating a dead horse. We’ve got superheroes in movies, on TV, in comics and graphic novels, what’s next? Are we going to start doing radio-spots and audio productions?

Honestly, it almost feels like I’m betraying myself by saying “Enough superheroes!” but the more the studios capitalize on them, the less special they become. Fifteen years ago it was a huge, monumental moment in a geek’s life that the X-Men were getting a live-action film, and now the studios will produce anything they can get their hands on (unless it’s a super-heroine, of course.) Yes, we love the AVENGERS and X-MEN franchises, Nolan’s BATMAN was a trilogy to stop the heart, and I think that with a little (or a lot) more love Snyder’s SUPERMAN could be a fearsome thing to behold… But do we really need every hero ever to get their own show or movie? Where do we draw the line?

Of course I’m going to watch all these new hero shows and I probably couldn’t stop myself from seeing all the upcoming movies even if I tried, but my logic-brain is feeling overwhelmed, angry and disappointed that instead of picking and choosing the best of the best to breathe life into, we’re giving away studio money to characters that don’t really need it. The Flash may be an interesting, dynamic character, but I’m not convinced that he needs his own show. Would I feel differently if that spot was being given to Poison Ivy or any of the four versions of Huntress? Probably, yes. That show would be something new, exciting and courageous; something that people wouldn’t be expecting or even really know that they wanted until it happened [Ed. Note: WB’s BIRDS OF PREY did happen, unfortunately]. It wouldn’t be just another superhero television series, but an introduction to a new breed of comic adaptation that we haven’t seen standing alone in 25 years: namely, the female kind.

But really, the issue here is not about gender of character, it’s about the fact that superheroes are becoming a dime-a-dozen instead of the rare gem they should be, and it’s time to pump the brakes, hang up the cape, and get back to producing original (or just non-comic) media for a little while. It may not be a surefire money-maker, but a little deprivation will go a long way in reinvigorating that crack-cocaine, uncontrollable need for our leather-clad lovers to get back into their suits.

Toss the needle and flush the drugs, y’all. Let’s all take a deep breath (but please don’t hold it) and revisit this superfad of superheroes in a few years’ time.

Crossovers have long been a part of the TV landscape. Most recently, Jerry Bruckheimer Productions has shuffled its cast of “characters” between COLD CASE and CSI: NY, or various combinations of CSI, CSI: MIAMI and CSI: NY. CSI & WITHOUT A TRACE also got in on the action.

But they’ve been around for a long time. Green Hornet and Kato appeared on an episode of Adam West and Burt Ward’s BATMAN. Characters from practically every crew in STAR TREK have met each other at one star date or another. Many shows have concluded storylines on other shows, like Andy Griffith on DIAGNOSIS: MURDER.

Can I beeee on any more shows?

90’s sitcoms featured a treasure trove of crossovers, as Chandler Bing of FRIENDS fame appeared on a show called CAROLINE IN THE CITY, and Lea Thompson (the titular Caroline) also made it on FRIENDS. Ross Gellar showed up on an episode of THE SINGLE GUY, which seems about right.

Kramer showed up on MAD ABOUT YOU. Carl Reiner reprised his role of Alan Brady from the DICK VAN DYKE SHOW on MAD ABOUT YOU. Phoebe’s twin sister Ursula (from FRIENDS) started as a character on MAD ABOUT YOU. Helen Hunt and MAD ABOUT YOU got around.

CHEERS & WINGS had a symbiotic relationship. Dr. Crane appeared on the JOHN LARROQUETE SHOW. Steve Urkel checked into FULL HOUSE and STEP BY STEP and John Stamos plays himself in STEP BY STEP, potentially forever altering the space-time continuum in the process.

Ray Romano and Kevin James have both appeared on their counterpart’s respective shows. Ray Barone (which is apparently Ray’s last name in EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND) appeared on COSBY, THE NANNY and BECKER. Everybody truly loved Raymond.

While we’re clearly living in a golden age of TV, the 80’s and 90’s were a magical time, but the fun doesn’t stop there.

The holy trinity was achieved much later, in the deplorable 00’s, by the Disney Channel when HANNAH MONTANA, THAT’S SO RAVEN and THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY merged for an ungodly episode called “That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana.”

I can’t go a few minutes without mentioning something related to Joss Whedon, and his vampire shows ANGEL and BUFFY featured many of the same characters popping in and out and storylines that directly affected the other. Beyond that, Whedonites will tell you that the entire Whedonverse is connected.

There are a billion more (especially when you expand the net to include spinoffs or animated shows), but why isn’t there a network dedicated to it? Why aren’t producers and their production companies teaming up to produce seamless hours of interconnected, Easter Egg laden entertainment?

It’s exhausting, expensive, and likely, implausible in many respects. But…come on.

This year, Jason Katims has staged a little fun with his three TV shows on NBC: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, PARENTHOOD and ABOUT A BOY, highlighting the promise and potential.

Even before Katims staged an “official” crossover between FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and PARENTHOOD, the shows were very much similar in mood, tone and actors. Almost every time a story necessitated a recurring guest star, Katims simply borrowed from his FNL alumni, oftentimes recycling their skillset or going against the grain, but always to comedic/wonderful effect.

Then “Friday Night at the Luncheonette” happened where Dillon, TX traveled to Berkeley, CA for a performance of Crucifictorious, the (3rd) greatest fictional band of all-time (Random Rankings column coming soon!). Amber (Mae Whitman) is manning the Luncheonette, Crosby and Adam’s recording studio, when LanceLandry shows up with the band and tears the place down with their set, thanks to Billy Riggins and a bunch of beer. It’s beautiful, hilarious bliss to see these characters again, mingling with Amber and Max.

Here’s the whole thing:

Jason Katims didn’t stop there. When ABOUT A BOY, NBC’s newest schmaltzy comedy that stars David Walton and Minnie Driver, premiered on February 22nd, the circle expanded further, another Katims Konnection. In fact, it existed already HAVING a crossover, as star David Walton had a cameo in a poker game on a previous episode of PARENTHOOD:

That’s Walton almost not in the shot on the right. Turnabout is fair play, however, as PARENTHOOD’s Crosby (Dax Shepard; we see the back of his head in the above shot) appears in ABOUT A BOY in Will Freeman’s very own poker game.

What can we derive from this? Jason Katims likes poker, the Bay Area (both shows are set in the SF area) and that he has fun playing with the audience a little bit. Here’s how Katims described the happenstance to EW:

“The one that aired on Parenthood was so subtle because people don’t know [About a Boy] yet, but I kinda liked that — not say anything about it and putting it out there,” Katims said. “When Dax comes on to About a Boy it will be very different. It’s going to be a cameo. It won’t be what the episode is going to be about. We’re doing it in ways that feel real and organic to the shows…I’ve never done anything like that before…it seemed like a natural thing to do.”

I’m not sure he can say that he’s never done anything like that before, considering what we already know about the incestuous relationship between FNL and PARENTHOOD, but I believe him when he says that it’s just a one and done thing.

But why should it be?

Cardigans.

Why are superhero movies, and in particular, the incestuous (in a good way) Marvel Cinematic Universe films, the only piece of popular entertainment that can crossover? The same benefits apply to any other show. In fact, you could argue the benefits might be even bigger for TV.

In this day and age, nobody watches a particular network out of loyalty or habit, unless they’re 67 years old and incapable of watching anything that doesn’t have a CSI or NCIS or L&O in the title. By creating an expanded universe within a roster of specific shows, and utilizing web series and webisodes and exclusive content online, a network rewards fandom, and gives viewers that watch more than one of their shows a certain cache. It incentivizes the relationship between TV and consumer, and rewards multiple viewings, plays into the DVR crowd, and will spark debate and fanfare in an age dominated by that very thing.

In the comic book world, it’s why Marvel and DC continually piss fanboys off by whipping up company wide crossovers year after year, and why fanboys always buy them. Because they’re inherently cool, whether they blow or not, because they have ramifications and you won’t want to be left out in the cold watching THAT 70’S SHOW reruns (though there are worse fates).

It’s certainly a lot more effort, and money (actors wanna be paid, yo), but the upside is tremendous, as evidenced by the number of articles and interest that came out of just these crossovers, and these shows are low rated chump change in the scheme of things. Going further with this idea would also promote cohesion among writers and producers and this sort of collaboration would likely increase the quality of TV thanks to the old adage of friendly competition. You don’t want to be the one who doesn’t know how to write Ron Swanson, or doesn’t use him correctly, when he pops on CHICAGO FIRE to save the day with his homemade fire hose.

Speaking of, NBC’s crossovers don’t just revolve around Jason Katims. LAW & ORDER creator Dick Wolf is also getting in on the fun, with CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO PD and soon, LAW & ORDER: SVU, swapping characters. Therein lies the rub: most shows can only crossover if they share the same producer or creator or at the very least, production company. Hollywood’s needlessly complicated that way. Two shows might very well air on FOX on the same night, but they might be partially owned by different studios, or filmed on a Sony Studios lot, or in Vancouver.

It’d take a concentrated effort, a regime change, or a brand new network starting from scratch to pull this off. Or a network with nothing to lose and the infrastructure already intact. Go to Vancouver, and you’ll find that that’s where EVERY CW show is shot, and considering ARROW, TOMORROW PEOPLE and FLASH (with the potential for BIRDS OF PREY and SUICIDE SQUAD out there) already share the superhero DNA (with FLASH literally being an ARROW spinoff), the CW is halfway there. And if they can somehow make ARROW viewers watch HART OF DIXIE because Diggle shows up to bang Rachel Bilson, and find a way to merge these combating audiences (though ARROW is pretty much a soap opera with tights 87% of the time), CW is all of a sudden a buzzy network.

That’s an awful, lame example, but imagine an age when Stephen Amell’s Ollie could pop in on FOX’s GOTHAM, or NBC’s CONSTANTINE, or AMC’s PREACHER? Some of that sounds awful, but who knows? Networks will never allow this to happen, mind you, but this sort of bold maneuver might be exactly what they need to compete with cable and the myriad of online avenues for original content. It’d also send fan fiction writers into a tizzy.

Think about it, and in the comments, give me some of your dream TV crossovers!