J.J. Abrams said he received inspiration from many places when it came to making the upcoming “Star Trek” film, but it seemed none was as great as the influence of George Lucas. In a new interview with Empire magazine, courtesy of TrekMovie, Abrams said that as he was piecing together the story and pace of “Star Trek XI,” he wanted to make sure that some of the elements that made the six Star Wars movie a success were incorporated into his film. Of course, some might call that blasphemy. “Star Wars was always full of action,” Abrams told the magazine. “If I had one criticism of the original Star Trek, it’s that the show was often a lot of discussion about things that were happening and not a lot of action depicting it. That needed to change.” Makes sense, since Kirk was more fire phasers …

The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows?” an episode of ABC’s “Life On Mars.” “Life On Mars” is settling into a routine. And for a show that is struggling to find viewers, that is not necessarily a good thing. Every week Sam solves a mystery, deals with the boorish sexism and corruption of his fellow officers, yet somehow ends up on top, with minimal if any progress made in trying to find out why he is stuck in 1973. Last week’s preview for this episode indicated that viewers would learn more about why Sam has been sent back to 1973. This episode did not provide any definitive answers, though. Sam met up with his mother, learned more about this family’s past, and prevented his mother from slipping into prostitution. (No, …

Since its premiere when it actually finished ahead of “Eleventh Hour,” the ABC series “Life On Mars” is experiencing a little bit of a boost in the ratings, experiencing some of its best numbers in weeks Thursday night. “Life On Mars” earned a 5.7 rating/10 share, finishing just behind “ER” on NBC, but a good distance behind “Eleventh Hour,” which earned a 7.7/13, according to Fast National ratings from Nielsen Media Research. Those numbers were up more than 5 percent from the previous week, but is still more than 6 percent off its average after four episodes. It’s down more than 42 percent from its “Grey’s Anatomy” lead-in, but finished slightly better than “Ugly Betty” in the 8 p.m. hour for ABC. “Eleventh Hour” is still working very strong, and in fact was the top genre …

This review contains MODERATE SPOILERS for “Identity,” the seventh episode from “Smallville’s” eighth season.“Smallville’s” eighth season is dedicated to transforming Clark Kent into his crime fighting alter-ego (only without the blue tights and red cape). Moving him to Metropolis and setting up shop in The Daily Planet was the first phase and “Identity” moves another step closer with rumors of a super-hero patrolling the Metropolis streets.For the first time, Aaron Ashmore has been given an arced story of real substance to work with as he tries to identify the mysterious savior, justifying the inclusion of Jimmy Olsen’s role on the series beyond a love interest for Chloe (Allison Mack). The real thrill of “Identity” though is the end setup of Oliver (Justin Hartley) repaying his debt to Clark …

I have to admit that I’m a bit uneasy about the news that David Tennant is leaving “Doctor Who” after next season. All I can do right now is say, in the nicest voice possible, “Please, please, please reconsider your decision to leave, David Tennant!” I doubt he will accommodate me on my request, which I think is something that is shared by millions of loyal fans, but I really do wish he would. Can “Doctor Who” survive without Tennant? Of course it can. If nothing else, “Doctor Who” has proven over the last near half-century that it can survive drastic changes to its format, actors and stories. Even when very popular actors like Tom Baker departed, the show survived … well, barely survived. But I’m sure that was more about the writing and some “Doctor Who” burnout than the simple …