TV Potpourri: "Daisies" gets its due, "Eastbound" gets extra innings

Closure time: Adam already covered the "Pushing Daisies" Season 2 DVD release date. Now comes word that the final three episodes of the critically-adored show WILL air on network TV. Give credit to ABC for sticking it somewhere on the schedule, even if that happens to be the Saturday night black hole. But who cares, the show already got canceled, right?. Bitterness aside, "Daisies" returns at 9 p.m., Saturday, May 30 through Saturday, June 13. Fellow ABC castoffs "Eli Stone" and "Dirty Sexy Money" are also being brought back in similar fashion: "Eli" at 9 p.m., Saturday, June 20 through Saturday, July 11, and "Dirty Sexy Money" at 9 p.m., Saturday, July 18 through August 8.

Back in the game: It sure looked like Kenny F'n Powers was heading down a dark road, never to return, at the end of "Eastbound & Down" Season 1. And while Channel Surfing sort of had a love-hate relationship with the show, we were at least surprised at the change in the finale's tone, and frankly, kind of want Kenny left in that lonely, depressing place. But he'll have to bounce back by year's end because HBO is picking the show up for a second season. It seems ratings for the finale made a significant enough impression -- or at least were more potent than premature Kenny getting busy with buxom April in her bedroom. Also, this will probably be a good investment for HBO since DVD sales are expected to give the show a nice second wind, especially among Will Ferrell and Adam McKay fans. New episodes are expected to air in 2010.

They're so unusual: After "Life on the Mars" bombed -- seriously, what was up with that ridiculous finale? -- ABC is banking on higher rated cop quirkiness from tonight's premiere of "The Unusuals." The show boasts familiar faces in Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia"), Adam Goldberg ("Saving Private Ryan") and Harold Perrineau ("Lost" ... WAAAAAAAALT!), and judging from its Kasabian-infused promos, seems like a fairly entertaining bet. The always-reliable Alan Sepinwall of the Newark Star-Ledger doesn't give the show a glowing review, but is certainly intrigued by the pilot. He writes, "There's a generous dose of humor, as the show tries to depict how playing society's garbage man can make you nuts. The action is frequently intercut with weird calls from the dispatcher, like a warning to look out for a 'man in a hot dog costume ... who may or may not be wielding a samurai sword.'" For the full review, alongside one for another new cop show, NBC's "Southland," click on this link. "The Unusuals" premieres at 9 p.m. tonight on ABC -- after "Lost."

-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com