Despite mixed reviews, the moody Twilight sequel, New Moon, garnered the third best weekend opening of all time, behind two more boy-oriented fantasies, The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3.

New Moon raked in $140.7 million from 4,024 theaters—nearly double Twilight's $69.6 million debut in 2008. The fan base completely ignored lukewarm to negative reviews (the Tomatometer is currently at 30%; About.com's Rebecca Murray gave it two and a half stars). Critics, realizing they were shouting into a tempest, warned the acting was more like posing and the direction not nearly as tight as in the previous installment (Catherine Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz).

That it had a big opening surprised no one; the "twi-hards" were expected to swarm into theaters in droves. But what seems to be raising eyebrows is that it surpassed even the more inflated expectations, making the movie's success hard to dismiss as mere cult enthusiasm. At the same time, some are wondering exactly what message is being sent to the young girls packing into the theaters—though, as many have noted, it's not just the backpack set that loves Twilight. Read more...

This summer I fell in love with two very different shows airing on NBC but originating outside the U.S. One was the brash, exuberant update of the Merlin story starring Colin Morgan. Bright and colorful, with swordfights and dragons leavening its witty scripts, it was a perfect fit for American television.

And the other was The Listener, a soft-hued Canadian series about a young paramedic (Craig Olejnik) coming to terms with his ability to hear others' thoughts. It was low-key, intelligent, and charming, carefully building its stories and characters, but even in the low-impact summer season NBC lost patience with its low ratings (it was posting well below a 1 rating among adults 18-49) and yanked it before it had even completed its run here. It continued playing in Canada to perfectly fine ratings and positive reviews, but NBC, which had never really promoted the show, was no longer interested.

The good news is that Canadians, and those with access to certain international channels, will be getting more. Shaftesbury Films announced that The Listener was renewed for a sophomore season by Canada's SPACE and CTV as well as Fox International Channels.

The Listener hasn't secured a new U.S. outlet for its second season, but with its solid performance in Canada, and with international sales in place, the show can continue even without a U.S. buyer.

"We don't need a U.S. outlet right now, for sure," said Shaftesbury chairman-CEO Christina Jennings. "But once the story department starts up in the new year, and we get some scripts under our belt, we'll canvas the U.S. outlets to see. Certainly The Listener had fans in the States."

At least one [points at self], anyway.

MOVIES--Opening this week:

• Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). If you were worried that magical animated films have been replaced by bloated experiments in excess (or that Hollywood is losing the capacity to successfully adapt Roald Dahl), Wes Anderson's latest offering may set your mind at ease. (Details below.)
  -- Trailers, clips, and video for Fantastic Mr. Fox.
  -- Movie Review of Fantastic Mr. Fox.
• The Road (2009). Based on the Cormac McCarthy "masterpiece," this story of endurance will be considered bleak by some, inspiring by others. (Details below.)
  -- Trailers, clips, and video for The Road.

HOME VIDEO--Out on DVD this week:

• Life on Mars (UK Version): Series 2 (2007). Curious about how different the excellent U.S. version was from its original British counterpart? Now that the second season is out on DVD in North America, you can find out. (The American version came out on DVD at the end of September.) In the U.K. version, the present-day detective trapped in 1973 is played by John Simm, known to American audiences primarily as the Master. Includes The Return of Life on Mars documentary (45 min.); Bonus behind-the-scenes footage for episodes 3, 5, and 7 and tour of the set (48 min); The End of Life on Mars featurette (28 min).
  -- Compare prices on Life on Mars.
• Buck Rogers (1939). A basic 70th anniversary rerelease of Universal's 12-chapter Buster Crabbe serial. On two discs. Includes Liner Notes by author Hank Davis; "The History of Buck Rogers" by Clifford Weimer; Photo Gallery; and the 10-minute 1933 Buck Rogers short feature starring John Dille Jr.
  -- Compare prices on Buck Rogers.
  

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Most of our shows are taking the week off because of the holiday or have already had their midseason finale and are off until January (Supernatural, Smallville). But there is new stuff this week from:

• Heroes,
• V: The Series (mideason finale),
• Eastwick, and
• Legend of the Seeker.

Guest stars this week include Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights) on Legend of the Seeker.

Next week most of the shows are back, including the just-canceled Dollhouse, which will be airing its remaining episodes twice nightly on Fridays starting Dec. 4.

Synopses below the jump. For details see the listings (regular or alphabetical). Read more...