So, Boston Legal lives on, and it would appear that by doing so has assisted the American version of Life on Mars to go into production.

Star Trek fans will note that in the pilot the character of Gene Hunt was played by Colm Meaney, old Miles O’Brien himself. And would you believe, there’s a trailer on-line:

Meanwhile, let’s take a look at what has been axed this year (for those of you just coming in….):

• Aliens in America
• Back To You
• Beauty and the Geek
• Big Shots
• Bionic Woman
• Cane
• Canterbury’s Law
• Carpoolers
• Cashmere Mafia
• Cavemen
• Eight Days a Week
• Girlfriends
• Jericho
• Journeyman
• K-Ville
• Las Vegas
• Life Is Wild
• Men In Trees
• Miss/Guided
• Moonlight
• New Amsterdam
• October Road
• Shark
• The Return of Jezebel James
• Unhitched
• Viva Laughlin
• Welcome to the Captain
• Women’s Murder Club

As the time of nominations in the Cult TV Awards is fast approaching, this is obviously the base list for the Award SHOW THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE CANCELLED, which thus far has gone to such luminaries as THE WEST WING and STUDIO 60. Nice for once that it WON’T be an Aaron Sorkin series winning!

Which would I put as the five shows to go into the category? Well, top of the pile is SHARK - back on five in the UK Fridays at 10.00pm (and how many of you missed that gem of information … five for some reason didn’t give the second season much fanfare, but at least they moved it to a new slot for this run). SHARK is one of those shows that is always engaging, although I have to admit the world does shake on its axis if I miss an episode.

Next up is JERICHO which I have to admit I haven’t seen any episodes of the curtailed 7-episode second season save for the first one, which seemed to run out of steam before it began. I gather from those who have sat through all seven segments that it does get bogged down in itself before rising to a humdinger of an ending. I will be following it on Hallmark, Friday nights at 8.00pm to see if I agree with their prognosis! I guess I put this in with a shout as fan-power got it a reprieve, but didn’t ya just bet on the American network not giving it the right support to survive!

MOONLIGHT would also be in the frame, again as it seems to have ignited a fandom, and as Cult TV is the name of our game, we should protect shows even if those who are passionate about it are few in number. Like most shows that become cults, if people see something in it that the majority don’t, likely as not it’s just because the majority have yet to give it a chance. Count Moonlight in that category …

JOURNEYMAN is another show that you can ink into this category. It was just finding its feet and then has the rug pulled from under it. You really feel that some shows should insist on a 22 episode order before they go into production, if only so that the DVD release has a good chunk of content that people can catch up with at a later date.

My fifth entrant would be a British series, and that’s THE WHISTLEBLOWERS. Again, this got transmitted on ITV last Autumn with very little ceremony. Here’s the press blurb:

Every company, every institution, every Government department has its secrets. From Deep Throat to Dr David Kelly, ‘whistleblowers’ have risked their careers, their reputations and even their lives to expose those secrets. And each episode of The Whistleblowers begs the question – could you? Or, more truthfully, would you?

The Whistleblowers is a six-part series created by the award-winning Tony Marchant (The Mark Of Cain, Passer By, Holding On, Recovery, Kid In The Corner), who writes three of the six episodes. One episode is written by real life whistleblower and ex immigration officer Tony Saint, another by ex teacher Steve Thompson and a sixth by Paul Logue (Sea of Souls).

BEN GRAHAM (Richard Coyle) and ALISHA COLE (Indira Varma) are lawyers at the same highly successful London firm. They witness a miscarriage of justice on their own doorstep and, instead of giving in to the temptation to look the other way, they speak out. However, by trying to do the right thing, Ben and Alisha suddenly find themselves on the other side of the law – enemies of the state.

In making the extraordinary journey from average citizens to whistleblowers, Ben and Alisha see the need to support others who are faced with the same moral dilemma. Realising whistleblowers are central to the continuing integrity and freedom of our society, they set up an agency to support those who are brave enough to step forward. Aided by private investigator and friend KENNY REED (Daniel Ryan), they step into the worlds of the education system, pharmaceuticals, the immigration service, the drinks industry and an environment agency to help potential whistleblowers take on those who will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

I knew nothing of this show until I saw Amazon was almost giving the DVD set away for about a fiver, and the premise sounded great. It’s got “old school ITV” values in its DNA, and Carnival Films is the production company, who gave us BUGS which, for a time, looked like it would become a cult series in its own right. No-one talked about Whistleblowers, and the reviews there were seem to have been mixed, to say the least, which immediately suggests ‘Cult Show Ahead’!

It even got nominated for the drama Rose d’Or, losing out to Channel 4’s SKINS, which shows where that judging panels sensibilities lie. Have to admit, that is another show that has slipped under my radar - still, the DVD box set of season one was cheap so at some point I’ll catch up on that one, too.

You’ll notice I’ve steered clear of including BIONIC WOMAN in my selections. This is another one of those “re-imagings” that take the format so far from its origins that they really should have called it something completely different, rather than feasting on its origins like some demonic vampire. Look, guys in charge of productions of re-imaginings everywhere, check out the two most successful revivals in TV history: STAR TREK and DOCTOR WHO.

What did they have in common? They didn’t erase history, they added to it. Same universe. The back catalogue remains part of the continuity. It’s a no-brainer on the merchandising front. So, how come this is just so difficult for some folk to get their head around? Get a new audience, sure, but keep the original fans happy - who will become some of your greatest ambassadors. It ain’t difficult if you’re truly a creative worth their salt.

So, talking of re-imaginings brings us full-circle back to the American version of LIFE ON MARS. The fact that there’s a link to BOSTON LEGAL should mean that British Sam Tyler fans shouldn’t be too concerned that this different version of the series will be off-kilter from what we are aware of. Aside from the minor change that it will be set in 1972 rather than 1973, an American cop backdrop will play differently to THE SWEENEY backdrop we had with the British version.

BOSTON LEGAL was on-the-ropes renewal-wise as it’s not a cheap show to produce, the cast being high-calibre and core to its success. Ratings are respectable but not stratospheric, and for a lot of viewers its politics is left-of-centre liberal, if indeed such terms have any relevance these days. After intense negotiations, the network oreached an agreement with creator David Kelley to bring “Legal” back in the Autumn. The network had originally intended to hold “Legal” as a mid-season replacement for any new show that failed.

The clincher was throwing the Stateside version onto the negotiating table. The ABC network had been keen on a series order of the show, starring Jason O’Mara, with October Road creators Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg becoming the executive producers.

Such a deal had to be blessed by Kelley, who owns the American rights. This is the second time the fates of Mars and Legal have been linked. Two years ago, putting the pilot of Mars into production helped clinch a renewal of Legal.

All of which means LIFE ON MARS (USA) is expected to be one of handful new additions to ABC’s Autumn schedule line-up.

So, all in all, I am excited that not only do we get to feast on another season of BOSTON LEGAL, but with a bit of luck, the American version of LIFE ON MARS can be considered something to eagerly anticipate, rather than dread …