THE brilliant Heroes – just like Life On Mars – doesn’t appear to be having much luck in awards ceremonies…so far.
One of the best American imports in recent years was snubbed at last night’s Emmy Awards.
It’s particularly puzzling that actor Masi Oka, who plays Hiro “Yatta!” Nakamura, missed out in the Supporting Actor category.
His performance as the teleporting Japanese comic book fan has been one of the TV joys of the year.
I trust Hiro will at some stage simply bend time and space to hand Masi the Emmy.
But who needs awards when we’ve still got so much to look forward to?
Series two of Heroes begins on NBC in America next Monday.
UK viewers are still some way behind.

THE end of an era approaches.
Michael Parkinson begins his last ever chat show series on ITV1 tomorrow night.
He says his style of show has maybe had its day.
And looking at ITV’s scheduling so far for Parky’s farewell, you can see his point.
Do you remember the fuss back in April 2004 when Michael announced his shock transfer from BBC1 to ITV?
He protested that he didn’t want to leave, but the BBC had won back football rights and revived Match of the Day.
Speaking then, he explained: “Effectively my spot had gone – when they bought the Premiership, they sold my playing field.”
Parky – who began his TV career as a reporter with Granada in Manchester – said he moved to ITV because he wanted a 10pm Saturday night slot.
“I had a choice – either retire and walk away or go elsewhere.

WELL, I’m now half way through the new Michael Palin series and haven’t been disappointed.
The views are gorgeous, the photography stunning and the people he meets along the way revealing.
But it’s Michael’s writing and narration which elevates Michael Palin’s New Europe (BBC1, Sunday, 9pm) into something extra special.
At the end of the second instalment of his latest journey, he visits the fairytale land of Cappadocia in Turkey.
It’s here, in what he describes as a “wild and wonderful landscape”, that he has his fortune told via leaves in a coffee cup.
Among other things, Michael learns that he will meet a rich lady in an internet chat room.
“I can’t work the chatrooms,” is his bemused reply.

BUSY this week with interviews for major TV series due to be screened later this year and next.
There are some great tales to tell – but not just yet.
One series on screen a little sooner is The Royal, back on ITV1 from this Sunday night.
I’ve always been a fan of both Heartbeat and The Royal and never miss an episode of either show.
The critics hate both with a passion.
Do they ever bother to watch? Somehow I doubt it.
Both Sunday night favourites are still huge hits because they deliver what viewers want.

PAUL O’Grady returns to his teatime TV show on C4 next week – but is already thinking about giving it all up.
“I think I’ll give it another two years. And then I think that’ll be it,” he says.
“So I’ll see how I feel in two years. If I’ve got it in me, I’ll carry on. But there are lots of other things I’d like to do.”
Next week’s guests include Brenda Blethyn, Enrique Iglesias, Liza Tarbuck, Griff Rhys Jones, Jamelia, Fern Britton and Ian Wright.
Also not forgetting canine co-stars Buster and Olga.

NOT long to wait now for Michael Palin’s new TV series.
Michael Palin’s New Europe begins on BBC1 at 9pm a week on Sunday.
I’ll be spending part of this coming weekend watching preview DVDs of his latest journey.
There’ll be a feature in next week’s MEN.
He’s also booked to chat about the series when Parkinson returns to ITV1 a week tomorrow.
Michael says there were many highlights during his latest trip.
One – in northern Romania – brought back memories of Monty Python’s classic Lumberjack Song.
“On Mondays, these Romanian lumberjacks go up the valley and chop trees up there.
“We filmed on the train that takes them up on Monday morning.

DOC Martin star Martin Clunes plans to take a break from acting.
He made the announcement at a press launch this afternoon for a new series of the award-winning ITV1 series.
Having filmed some nine hours of drama this year, Martin told us it was time for him to retreat to the other side of the camera.
“I’m always worrying whether people will get sick of me,” he confessed.
“I’m not sick of myself but I’d hate to be in that position because I do love what I do.”
The former man behaving badly returns later this month in seven new episodes of the Cornish comedy drama.
Martin, who plays grumpy Dr Martin Ellingham, said Doc Martin would also be rested next year.

IT was just after 5am on a summer Sunday morning when the phone rang.
The voice on the other end told me that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed had died in a Paris car crash.
My first sleepy reaction was one of disbelief.
The second was to get on with covering one of the biggest stories in our lifetime.
I’d been lucky enough to be the MEN’s lead reporter inside St Paul’s Cathedral for the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981.
Now I was about to fulfil the same role at Diana’s Westminster Abbey funeral.
Over the following days I witnessed first hand the nation’s grief at both Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace.
I also visited the Abbey as preparations began for a unique funeral.

YOU could call it Big Brother with an actual point.
Or simply a load of old rubbish.
Watch out for Dumped when it begins on Channel 4 on September 4.
It features 11 people spending three weeks living on a rubbish dump to highlight the mountain of waste material we needlessly throw away.
Filmed in June, it highlights the fact that every year we chuck out an average of half a tonne of rubbish each, with just a quarter being recycled.
That places the UK in the bottom three European nations for recycling, with the Dutch and Germans recycling more than twice as much.
It’s a timely series, screened over four consecutive nights as part of C4’s Green Week.

DON’T forget to make a date for the return of The X Factor tomorrow night. You won’t be disappointed.
Cast your eyes further down the ITV1 schedule and your heart might sink when you read 9.40pm: The Truth About Boybands.
Leaving aside the argument about whether it should be “boybands” or boy bands”, I thought it would be yet another talking heads show.
Well, to a large extent it is.
But while it won’t win any awards, the two-part series exceeded my expectations.
There are some excellent contributions, providing just a glimpse of what really went on behind the scenes.
Pete Waterman gives a good impression of the grumpy old man of pop, stripping away much of the nonsense surrounding that world.