Blog Posts by Anne T. Donahue

Kris Connor/Getty Images

It feels like only last month we were reporting on Alex Trebek's plans to leave "Jeopardy!" and begin a life anew. Oh, right, it was only last month.

But now, a few weeks after the revelation Trebek was planning to vacate his gig on the long-running series, the veteran game show host has denied retirement reports and announced the Decades Tournament.

"There was way too much made of a comment I had made about thinking about retirement," Trebek told TV Guide Canada this week. "It just got blown out of proportion, but that's OK. That's what reporters do, sometimes."

In our defence, Mr. Trebek, it was the only way we could channel our surprise, shock, and sorrow. Also, you full-on said you "suspected" this was your "last contract." What did you expect from tugging at our heartstrings that way?

HBO

Pop culture aficionados love to make lists relating to their favourite shows, so just imagine the joy they must have felt when the Writers Guild of America West put out its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series.

The round-up consists mostly of series written within the last decade -- a decade writer Paul Brownfield described as one that "coincided with a sharp growth in original programming on both basic and pay cable television when writers were given more latitude to explore the moral complexities of the worlds they created."

Which may explain why "The Sopranos" came in at No. 1.

"'The Sopranos' received the most votes," Brownfield explained. "And no show has been more responsible for TV's storytelling renaissance in which writers use character both as engines for commenting on the contemporary world, and for teasing out the ways in which action reflects psychology in the troubled inner lives of real people."

And troubled inner lives everyone on "The Sopranos" led. But what about spots 2 through 20? Were all shows as heavy? Well, here's how they ranked:

1. "The Sopranos"
2. "Seinfeld"
3. "The Twilight Zone"
4. "All in the Family"
5. "M*A*S*H"
6. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
7. "Mad Men"
8. "Cheers"
9. "The Wire"
10. "The West Wing"
11. "The Simpsons"
12. "I Love Lucy"
13. "Breaking Bad"
14. "The Dick Van Dyke Show"
15: "Hill Street Blues"
16. "Arrested Development"
17. "The Daily Show

Citytv

Things are looking up for Canadian television! At least, that's what we can take away from the Rogers Media upfront presentation on June 4, which saw shows "Seed" and "The Bachelor Canada" renewed for second seasons. And those are just two of the seven original Canadian series we'll see on Rogers.

The comedy "Package Deal" will premiere in the fall on Citytv as opposed to this summer (though the pilot will air on June 24). The show will be sandwiched between ratings hits "How I Met Your Mother" and "2 Broke Girls," arguably guaranteeing a built-in audience come autumn. "Storage Wars Canada," the Eva Longoria-led animated series "Mother Up!", and "The Liquidator" are also scheduled for mid-season and fall starts, as well as reality series, "Meet the Family" (in which a person meets his or her partner's family for the first time). Finally, there's "The Project: Guatemala," which tricks narcissistic 20-somethings into giving back by planting them in -- you guessed it -- Guatemala.

And the reality TV parade doesn't stop there: "The Bachelor Canada" is promising bigger and better things for 2014, and may even feature "Big Brother Canada"-esque tactics like 24/7 surveillance and after-hours programming.

"We're going to make more of a meal of the casting process this time," Claire Freeland, director of Original Programming for Rogers Media, told TV Guide. "We're going to put the call out for bachelors, this time, to all of Canada."

But yeah, that's a lot of reality television. Yes, it's what viewers tune into, but the renewal of "Seed" proves that it's possible to create original Canadian comedy.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

He's ba-ack! That's correct, pop culture aficionados: "Community" creator Dan Harmon is returning to the series following his controversial split before the beginning of season 4. Having announced his official comeback via Twitter (thank you, Joel McHale), Harmon is still dodging what, exactly, his role will be, but Variety reports he'll be replacing current showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port.

Not only that, but Harmon will reportedly also make a contribution to last season. Despite his absence on set and in the writer's room, Harmon will still be recording commentary for the Season 4 DVD -- which is especially bold, since he hasn't watched it yet.

"Sony said they're very interested in recording me watching it as a commentary track," he said at L.A.-based Cinefamily theatre's show, "Found Crap." "It would move season 4 DVDs, for sure."

Is Harmon serious? We'll soon find out. But what is serious are the changes he needs to make before "Community" can be restored to full capacity. Obviously, Guarascio and Port tried their best, but without Harmon's distinctive flair, the series arguably lacked the magic it earned attention for to begin with.

First, "Community's" characters need to stop being parodies of themselves. Throughout Seasons 1 through 3, we learned of their traits, but still saw character growth. Jeff (Joel McHale) began caring more about other people, and Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) learned to expand their horizons beyond merely pop culture. Season 4, on the other hand, saw these establishing traits used for as a punchline -- especially in moments when Troy believes "Game of Thrones" is actually historical, or when he and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) begin dating and their inherent personalities interfere with their

Amy's Baking Company/Facebook

It takes a lot to push Gordon Ramsey over the edge, but in an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" in early May, Amy and Samy Bouzaglo of Amy's Baking Company managed to do it. Thanks to their unwillingness to co-operate or change during the episode, the couple from Scottsdale, Ariz. managed to drive Ramsey away, earning widespread attention in the process. Naturally, that sounds like the perfect recipe for their own reality series, right?

According to RadarOnline, yes. After a month defined by their infamous TV appearance and subsequent Facebook meltdown, the Bouzagalos are reportedly being courted by Cineflix and a few other production companies.

"Right now Cineflix is the most serious production company trying to secure Amy and Samy, " said a source. "They want to develop a show around their restaurant and their bad behaviour. Amy and Samy are all for it because they feel like it's the only way to keep their restaurant open."

AMC

Warning: This post contains potential spoilers for this season of "Mad Men."

"Mad Men" fans, prepare to be impressed (and also much more nervous). Thanks to some savvy folks on Reddit, conspiracy theories have surfaced about the current

ABC

A new season of "The Bachelorette" premiered Monday night, and with it came the typical introductory meet-and-greets that have come to define the competition-based romance series. Starring Desiree "Des" Harstock (of Sean Lowe's season of "The Bachelor"), the debut began as most do: with a tour of the mansion and grounds before the lucky Bachelorette is introduced to her suitors.

Naturally, no longer "devastated" after being eliminated by Sean last season, Des is ready for love. Which is perfect, since, after revealing how much she loves cuddling (and art, and gazing into the horizon, based on the montage that accompanied her backstory), we were introduced to 20 swinging singles -- all of whom seemed just as excited to be there. However, five in particular really opened our eyes. And also our jaws, since we couldn't believe the words coming out of their mouths.

Nick R.
Could "Arrested Development" have planted magician/tailor Nick R. as a means to drum up publicity for Season 4? Maybe, since when he promised to make "Des" disappear, he actually just pulled her

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images, Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Once upon the time, they were the stars of a couple of our favourite family sitcoms. But now, Danielle Fishel and Bob Saget are engaged in an all-out feud (about something you'd never see on a family sitcom -- unless it was "a very special episode").

It began with an interview. In March, "Boy Meets World" star Fishel told Maxim about an incident in the 1990s, when Saget allegedly accosted her family on a plane to Disneyworld. According to Fishel, the "Full House" actor allegedly asked her for cocaine.

"We were trying to take a nap, and all of a sudden, Bob Saget walks down the aisle, rips open our curtain, and shouts, 'Do you guys have any coke?!'" Fishel claimed. "Then he looks my dad in the eye, laughs, and closes the curtain."

Evidently, Saget wasn't too fond of Fishel's account. And to keep things consistent, he also took to Maxim to air his side of the story.

"What show was she on? 'Big Chest, Small Wonder?'" Saget said. "That's the real size of her, by the way. She's kind of like Bilbo Baggins, very tiny. So first off, I don't open curtains. That was a lie, because I just don't do it. I knock on things. Also, there weren't separate compartments on the plane."

He went on: "Anyway, the whole thing was as simple as me going to the bathroom and throwing out a