TV Gossiper: 10 things we learned at Comic-Con

(Credit: Fox)

Comic-Con is a frakkin' smorgasbord of television news—and not just for the geekier fare. How much did we learn this weekend? A whole lot. Find out exactly what in our super-sized Comic-Con edition of TV Gossiper. (Needless to say, spoilers ahoy...)

10. Fox Probably Nixing Controversial "Family Guy" Ep
"Family Guy" creator Seth McFarlane loves to push buttons, and when his network doesn't want to push along, he pushes theirs too. Fox allowed it's golden boy to produce an episode for the upcoming season about abortion but will probably decline to air it—and McFarlane isn't particularly happy about it. No official decision has been made, but fans should take comfort in his guarantee that the episode will at least make it to DVD.

9. Nestor Carbonell Becomes a "Lost" Regular
After a few seasons of sporadic appearances as the mysterious, ageless, eyeliner-loving Richard Alpert on "Lost," it looks like Nestor Carbonell will be featured prominently for the show's final season. At the "Lost" panel at Comic-Con, showrunners revealed that Carbonell has been bumped to a full-time cast member when it returns in 2010. 

8. "Caprica" Gets an Official Air Date
SyFy's "Battlestar Galactica" prequel spinoff "Caprica" may have already seen its debut as a DVD movie earlier this year, but the launch of the full series has been listed as "TBD" for some time now. During a gathering of "BSG" folks this weekend, creators Ron Moore and David Eick announced that date is now officially January 22, 2010.

7. "Dexter" is Ready For Fatherhood
Showtime released the first trailer for the upcoming fourth season of "Dexter" this weekend, and in addition to sneak peaks of the arrival of John Lithgow as the "Trinity Killer" and the return of Keith Carradine's special agent Frank Lundy, there's also a first look at Dexter's new baby. Apparently showrunners have passed on the nine-month lead up to Rita's delivery, because lil’ Dex will make his debut as soon as the series returns this September.

6. ABC's "The Middle" Not an Early Hit
Sometimes non-genre stuff works at Comic-Con... and sometimes it doesn't. ABC was hoping for magic when it decided to kick off Patricia Heaton's new sitcom "The Middle" in San Diego this weekend, but only 75 people showed up at the 2,000-seater auditorium. Heaton, who was supposed to introduce the pilot, was reportedly told to not even bother coming.

5. Missing "Dollhouse" Episode Finally Screens
After Fox decided not to air Joss Whedon's nonlinear 13th episode of "Dollhouse," titled "Epitaph One," during the show's first season, fans realized they'd have to wait for the DVD release to see the post-apocalyptic episode—except those folks lucky enough to attend the "Dollhouse" event at Comic-Con this weekend. The reaction was warm, and judging by creator Joss Whedon's announcement that episode star Felicia Day will appear in the show's second season, there may be more life to "Epitaph One" after all.

4. Early Fourth Season Pick-Up For "Eureka"
SyFy (we're still getting used to that new name...) announced an early order for another season of "Eureka" this weekend. The fantasy/comedy just kicked off its third season of a few weeks ago, and much to a lot of people's surprise, will be back on the network in 2010.

3. "True Blood" Will Be Back
It's not exactly what we'd call "shocking" news, but "True Blood" creator Alan Ball did let fans know that HBO's latest cultural phenomenon would be back for a third season next year. No official announcement has been made, but based on Ball's comments—and the series' skyrocketing ratings—there will definitely be more blood.

2. "Lost" Death Toll Shrinks
There'll be lots of familiar faces for the final season of "Lost," and you can count many (most? all!?) of the show's dead characters among them. Ian Somerhalder (Boone), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Jeremy Davies (Daniel Faraday) and Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) are all confirmed to reprise their respective roles in some capacity. The word is still out on Shannon, Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Michael, Charlotte, Libby, Nikki, Paulo…

1. Contract-less Cast Absent From "Futurama" Panel
Not to rain on the "Futurama" parade, but things aren't looking that fantastic for the show's return from the grave and jump over to Comedy Central. The show's voice actors, including the ever-familiar-sounding Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio, have yet to nail down a contract to secure their return. The salary standoff is so bad, the actors didn't even appear at the series' Comic-Con panel. Could the show even go on with a different set of voice talent? And if it did, would you even bother to watch?