What Does 2010 Hold For 'Lost,' 'FlashForward' And Our Other Favorite Television Shows?

In 2009, we tried something new here on MTV Movies Blog. There's an abundance of television programming these days built around season-long and multi-season story arcs. The small-screen viewing experience is different of course -- no event blockbusters, 3-D (well... once, on "Chuck," and it was meh) or anything like that -- but a well-told tale is a hard thing to ignore. That's why we started covering a few shows with recaps, interviews and the like.

Well the TV is looking pretty damn good in 2010, so we'll be back with even more coverage. To get ready, ace contributor Josh Wigler and I sat down to consider a few of the shows we'll be watching in the coming months, commenting on what we see in store for them...

"Dollhouse"
As the series races towards its conclusion, Echo (Eliza Dushku) and her allies are going to have their work cut out for them if they want to put an end to the Rossum Corporation's plan to utilize their doll-making technology against the better part of humanity. As we saw in the dystopian future of "Epitaph One," however, it's likely that our heroes will lose some major battles before they have a prayer at winning the war.

"FlashForward"
The fateful date of April 29, 2010 inches ever nearer, promising to reveal the futile inevitability or the hopeful flexibility of the future glimpses seen by Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), his wife Olivia (Sonya Walger) and others. We'll also find out for sure whether or not Demetri Noh (John Cho) will die at Mark's hands, an event predicted to go down in March. My gut tells me that Noh is going to be just fine — for now, at least.

"Fringe"
In "August," the Observers sadly remarked that Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) has a very difficult road ahead of her. (Editor's note: Gotta play Devil's Advocate here-- what if they were talking about Olivia's niece...?) So far, those ominous remarks haven't been completely honored, which means that 2010 could hold some very dark times for Olivia and the rest of the Fringe crew. Also, have we seen the last of William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), the brilliant but morally ambiguous scientist dwelling in the alternate dimension? I kind of doubt it, but J.J. Abrams and his colleagues will need to work with Nimoy to ensure that his character has plenty to do with his potential future appearances.

"Lost"
What is the Smoke Monster? Who are the Others? Did the detonation of the nuclear bomb by Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) prevent Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and the other survivors of Oceanic 815 from crashing on the Island? Nobody knows for sure — except for the creative team behind "Lost," which kicks off its final season in February — but here are my best guesses: I think that the Smoke Monster is Jacob's Nemesis, the ultimate confidence man currently posing as the late John Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Who really knows who the Others are, except for a group of pawns being manipulated by Smokey. And yes, Oceanic 815 never crashed... kind of, at least. No matter what revelations are ultimately made, there will only be one important question to answer by the show's conclusion in May — was it any good?

"V"
The brief formation of an underground anti-V task force headed by Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) is undergoing a bit of a hiccup thanks to the near death of Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch), but it's far too early in the series for this hero to vacate the planet. What's less clear is whether or not the oncoming armada of visitor spaceships will arrive by the end of the show's first season. Will they bring the full weight of their empire to bear upon the people of Earth, or do the visitors truly come in peace? My guess is the former, but I wouldn't necessarily be disappointed by the latter.

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars"
There are only four episodes left in the current season of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (two of which air tonight!!). In the recently-concluded four episode arc set around the Second Battle of Geonosis, we saw (among other things) a young Anakin Skywalker begins to embrace his dark future. More of that, please. By the time the season two capper airs we'll have seen General Grievous's torture methods, an ancient Jedi Master and (finally!) some Mandalorian belligerence. The season ends puts the total episodes at 44, close to half of creator George Lucas's planned 100.

"Chuck"
Season two of "Chuck" left many of us with two big questions (other than "will the show be renewed?"): Is Chuck (Zachary Levi), with his ability to access the Intersect 2.0 at will, now going to play as a super agent? and What will become of the Buy More team?! We'll get some answers for both when the third season kicks off a week from Sunday. The show is built on the contrast between Chuck's geeky innocence and the situations he's thrown into, so the added element of him actually being able to join the fray should make for some fun situations.

"Caprica"
We have two things to go on with "Caprica," which hasn't even started yet: a pilot and the caché of creators Ron Moore and David Eick, who so successfully executed the new series' inspiration, "Battlestar Galactica." In addition to delivering on promises of diving into Cylon origins, the pilot also presented a compelling vision of the Twelve Colonies before they were decimated in "Battlestar." Expect great things from this series.

Tags caprica, Chuck, dollhouse, FlashForward, fringe, lost, star wars the clone wars, V