I Am A TV Junkie

NGTV Video -- Wolverine Hugh Jackman with Carrie, Opens Tomorrow

Fanboys, start your engine. I have my clutch in my hand right now.

Hehehehe.

I'm not even watching this first, I'm just posting it sight unseen (after the jump) because I know so many people who for so many reasons can't get enough of the guy pictured above.

I mean, Yowza!

And, bonus, Ryan Reynolds. Other bonus? Taylor Kitsch, that guy from Friday Night Lights, you know the one.

And Liev Schreiber, you are a fine actor, sir.

In my next life, I come back as No Good Television's Carrie Keegan.

After the jump. Go, click!

Video -- Judy Shepard Talks to Rachel Maddow About Foxx "Hoax" Statement

Matthew Shepard links here and here. They are hurting in this economic downturn, folks, so some help would be appreciated. (DONATE LINK)

Posted because we appreciate strong women who love their kids unconditionally here at IAmATVJunkie.com.

LINK

And we abhore bigotry and ignorance.

I'm sending the Shepard foundation what I can today, please join me. In fact, I just did it and it took just a moment of my time and a credit card.

I know a lot of you who read this blog (especially those of you who have come to read about yourselves) have done pretty well for yourselves. If I've given you some information or made you laugh about something on this page, please do this.

DONATE LINK

Star Trek Los Angeles Red Carpet Live Streaming, I've Got the Link!

Click here. If you're using Firefox or any other browser, I think you have to install the WMP plug-in, and since it's 15 minutes in already, you might wanna just use Internet Explorer.

Since it's J.J. Abrams, I have to wonder if any of the Fringe cast will show up. I hope so.

I'm watching it right now and you're not missing any of the big stars yet.

WE tv on Cable Has Bea Arthur Golden Girls Tribute Tonight From 9:30pm - 1 am

That's almost right now for those of you on the East Coast.

And a dedicated forum for everyone to share their favorite Bea Arthur memories, at this link.

And thanks to them, after the jump, a best of Dorothy Zbornak video montage.

Thank you Katrina for the info and your pal Izzy for the handoff.

And, I suggest a cheesecake if you're inviting friends over.

Grey's Creator Rhimes is a Doctor Who & Torchwood Fan, discusses Pete v. Sheldon on Private Practice

Bill Keveney at USA Today:

Her loyalty to Meredith & Co. is paralleled by an allegiance to the fans, who she feels also have an ownership stake. She and Beers do podcasts, and Grey's writers interact with viewers via the blog Grey Matter (greyswriters.com).

Rhimes tries to protect the viewing experience, too. She is famed for giving away few plot details. As a TV fan herself — her likes include 30 Rock, Lost, Weeds, Project Runway, Doctor Who and Torchwood— she thinks spoilers detract from viewers' enjoyment. "It's the Pentagon, but I imagine we're nicer," says Walsh.

Rhimes won't say much regarding Practice's finale, which coincides with psychiatrist Violet's due date, except that it ends in a cliffhanger. Will viewers learn whether the father is clinic colleague Pete (Tim Daly) or fellow shrink Sheldon (Brian Benben)?

"I think what happens supersedes who the dad is," she says cryptically, adding: "But Violet definitely makes a choice about who she wants to be with."

The image above? Photoshop, baby, Photoshop.

Kelly McGillis, Top Gun Babe, Comes Out on Camera in Key West

She talks to Long Beach, CA rocker Corday (Jennifer Corday) poolside in Key West, which I though was appropriate.

I will lose serious gay points if I don't at least link in this post to the Village People video for Key West. And I would if I could but I can't find it. Anywhere. Help from anyone would be appreciated.

(Corday, btw, is an Envy Records artist and does a web show for SheWired.com, which I don't click over to enough and I should and I apologize to all the people who keep SheWired going because it's a great site.)

So, how many gay people were in the love scenes in Top Gun? Well, at least one who has confirmed it.

Kelly McGillis also came out as a woman who won't color her hair for a film role in this clip, by the way, joining the likes of many including myself and the beautiful T.R. Pescod who think the whole hair color thing is just not for them.

(Speaking of T.R., have you seen him in the new Macy's ad with Clinton Kelly from What Not to Wear? He looks great. I would love to know what him and the guys he walks toward the camera with are thinking about that make them look so happy. Maybe it's just ... ACTING!)

After the jump, I have the full vlog from Corday poolside with the wonderful Ms. McGillis, who, although you hardly ever see her on screen anymore has been very active in live theatre and who is in fact starring with Julia Duffy (Newhart, Designing Woman) in a production of  The Little Foxes at the Pasadena Playhouse starting May 22.

Interesting what news outlets still think coming out is a big hairy negative deal for actors. The first mainstream site I saw a link about this from? Fox Noise.

Of course.

Get tix for Kelly's Pasadena Playhouse  run of The Little Foxes at this link.

Clip after the jump.

Oh, and Corday will be performing during the Cinco De Mayo celebration at Taco Beach on Pine Ave. in downtown Long Beach right near my old place, in fact, and that's very obviously on May 5, which is a Tuesday.

Hulu Adds ABC & ABC Family Shows to TV Roster -- Lost, Grey's, Housewives, Betty, More

Also Samantha Who, Scrubs, Private Practice, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Greek, General Hospital, The View. And classic series Hope and Faith, Less Than Perfect, Commander in Chief, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Dancing with the Stars.

And webisodes and other web content, like previews of upcoming episodes. And some Disney Channel stuff, which you can have though I'll beg off politely.

From the press release including a quote from Hulu bigwig and friend of the blog Jason Kilar (hey!):

Hulu and The Walt Disney Company today announced that Disney, through its subsidiary ABC Enterprises Inc., has agreed to join NBC Universal, News Corporation and Providence Equity Partners as a joint venture partner and equity owner of Hulu, a leading online aggregator of video content. Upon closing, the agreement will enhance Hulu's programming line-up through the expanded online distribution of Disney's most popular current and library primetime series and library feature films. In particular, full-length episodes of hit current and library programs like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, Ugly Betty, Scrubs, Greek, Hope and Faith, Less Than Perfect, Wizards of Waverly Place, Phineas and Ferb, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, General Hospital, The View and The Secret Life of the American Teenager will soon be streamed on Hulu on an ad-supported basis.

"From our landmark iTunes deal to our pioneering decision to stream ad supported shows on our ABC.com player, Disney has sought to meet the constantly evolving viewing habits of our consumers, and today's Hulu announcement is the next important step in that ongoing journey," said Robert A. Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. "Disney and Hulu share a focus on delivering the highest-quality entertainment experience and we look forward to working with Hulu to build value for our consumers, our brands and our shareholders."

"We're honored to welcome the Disney team in our mission to help people find and enjoy the world's premium content, when, where and how they want it," said Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu. "With the addition of shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and many more to Hulu, we continue to aspire to deliver a service that users, advertisers and content owners unabashedly love."

(snip)

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory review. As an equity partner, Disney will have three seats on the Hulu Board that will be held by Mr. Iger; Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group; and Kevin Mayer, executive vice president, Corporate Strategy, Business Development & Technology. All other current directors from News Corp, NBC Universal and Providence will remain on the Hulu board.

Hey, get those Better Off Ted episodes up and running and I'll go to each American's home and make them watch at least one episode.

Hulu should follow me with a camera while I'm doing this and shoot an unscripted show (which in this case would be truly unscripted) as I attempt to coerce people nationwide into having better taste in TV. Or, rather, MY taste in TV.

I will not be posting full episodes of season three of that damned ballroom dancing show. Why some people watch that is a complete mystery to me. What is wrong with you people?!?!?

2 Clips -- VP Biden on Today, DHS Sec. Napolitano on MSNBC Re Swine Flu ... Oops, I Mean H1N1!

No, I mean swine flu, but countries have to stop banning pork products from the infected countries if we will continued to be able to call it that.

(More cute pigs today above, yes, but when you see a cute pig these days you should think about covering your mouth when you cough and don't go out if you're sick, that's what Janet Napolitano, our DHS Secretary says in the second clip with MSNBC's Tamron Hall. BTW, Tamron Hall is gorgeous. Just thought I'd say it.)

In his clip, Biden tells Lauer that if he was advising family, he would advise against commercial air travel and possibly using mass transit during this event. "But that's just me," he says.

I have no plans in either area.

Biden also talks to Matt about his involvement in getting Arlen Spector to switch parties, and about how he didn't get chosen as one of People Magazine's Barack's Beauties section in the Most Beautiful People issue (Christina Applegate very appropriately graces the cover, and it's the heretofore not mentioned third and bonus clip after the jump.)

All clips after the jump.

Obama Abandoning Current TV's Laura Ling, Euna Lee? Must Be Today's RNC Meme to All the Sheep

It must be in the daily talking points that will eventually get downloaded into the very outdated computer mechanism that is Elisabeth Hasselbeck's brain.

First of all, it's not true. Secondly, it probably wouldn't be so much of a problem if the Bush Administration hadn't spent eight years threatening North Korea instead of carrying out the mission, which is diplomacy.

Then again, George W. Bush thought diplomacy was best done at the end of a weapon. Idiot.

So far I've found two instances of this, and I'm most disappointed with former woman's activist and NOW President Tammy Bruce, who after Dennis Miller is the weirdest shift to the hard right that I've ever seen among people who previously employed sense and rationality in their public proclamations.

She has a column these days at the Fox News website and I guess it gets distributed to the best of the bird cage floors too, since I can't imagine what good it is otherwise.

Back in March she called Michelle Obama trash. So she's certainly not operating in the rational sphere. Actually might be pretty standard for her, back in the days of the O.J. trial, the first one, she was censured by NOW and eventually had to leave that post because of racially insensitive things she said about black people during that trial.

Shoulder? Meet chip.

(And this image above left with the revolver? It's one of her publicity photos, believe it or not. Who does PR pics with a gun in their hand? People really trying to boost their NRA credentials, actors on cop shows and ... crazy people!)

About this situation she says (and I apologize in advance for linking to the Fox Noise website, but it's the only place I can find this, her personal site with her columns doesn't seem to be working):

When you abandon Americans held by terrorists, and then reward terrorists who trained with Al Qaeda, some might argue it’s more than priorities that are screwed-up in the White House.

So, why has the Obama administration allowed these kidnappings of Saberi, Ling and Lee to stand? The hostage-taking of these women is no different than the kidnapping of the Maersk Alabama’s Captain Phillips by terrorists on the high seas. Obama’s mob has made pathetic noise about Saberi’s kidnapping, noting Obama was “disappointed” when Iran announced they had found her guilty of a sham crime by a sham trial.

Allowed to stand? What, we can wave a wand and make it go away? Sheesh.

Maybe it's because we don't have any avenue for diplomacy with either of these nations. Might have something to do with that Axis of Evil shit that Bushie was yelling about for all those years.

Yeah, we can get people out of harm's way using ships and guns and Navy SEALS. But Tammy, and you know this (or, you just write with half the information at your grasp, which is just as bad as being stupid when the info is available), North Korea is a nuclear nation that has been testing rockets and spouting all kinds of warning crap.

And in Iran (where Roxana Saberi is being held) we are hamstrung by the Bush administration's failure to prosecute the Iraq War in a way that didn't strengthen the ties between the Maliki government in Iraq and the clerics in Iran.

Moves in either area of the nature you are suggesting would come with bad complications.

So, because of the failures of the Bush administration, who have been gone 101 days today, Tammy Bruce is willing to say that our new President is abandoning women reporters that are held in two nations that make up 67% of her preferred president's Axis of Evil.

Disingenuous, sloppy, ill-informed, and ultimately using those three journalists (two who work for Al Gore, to whom I know she can't have an ounce of good feeling) to advance her own career, which also makes her ... revolting. But, you know, she has books to sell. And if she doesn't have something new to say she can't get those tasty bookings with Bill-O and Manatee on Fox.

Hey, next time you're on with Hannity why don't you also offer to be waterboarded. By then maybe Lee and Ling and Saberi will be back and they'll get to "do you." It's the least we can do for them after all the zazz you're getting from their incarceration.

Swine Flu Related News From The Office (Kind of)

I am posting this behind the scenes clip from NBC.com about Blackmail, the new webisode series starring the cast of The Office, because if I do someone who works with NBC on this project promised me she would stop obsessing over the swine flu.

I can't say who it is (Margot).

And she also promised she would wash her hands (Margot).

And she'll stop shopping online for the plastic bubble from the John Travolta TV movie of the late seventies. (Margot, and you can't even afford it, even if it is the actual bubble).

And that's why I'm posting this behind the scenes clip and for insurance (because we're talking about medical issues here and I hear insurance is a good thing) I'm posting the preview clip as well.

Which is, in fact, pretty funny. It seems Dunder Mifflin's most likely to take a hostage, Creed Bratton, has some information on some people that he's putting into play for cash reward. Including a picture of Kelly macking on some other chick.

(Yes, I'm using chick a lot in posts lately. Not to diminish, just to sound cool. You'll find out why soon. The Chickpocalypse is coming, you'll just have to stay engaged.)

So, as someone avoids non-essential travel to Mexico (Margot) and covers her mouth when she coughs (Margot) and reminds everyone that you can't get this thing from eating pork product (that's just me, and I loooove pork, as you all know) click over the jump (if you're on the homepage) and watch these clips and in a way you'll be helping to quell the fears of ... well, someone.

Someone named Margot.

Note to the CDC, asking us not to call it swine flu now? Sorry folks, the cat's outta the back. And that's not a hairball she's coughing up.

NGTV's Carrie Keegan, Cover Girl & With Land of the Lost Stars Ferrell, Friel, McBride

So, this is Jesse James' Garage magazine's 18th issue. I apparently missed issues one through 17.

(Frankly, if it's not Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, Fast Company or New York Magazine, I don't see it. And cars take me places, but that's all I know.)

Check out the anklets, though. Just like the girl in the ZZ Top video for Legs. Only on a much hotter woman.

And, after the jump, Carrie, and I'm quoting the email the link came with "fucks around with Will Ferrell and Danny McBride on the Land of the Lost set."

No actual fucking, however.

There's also a moment with Sid and Marty Kroft. No, they aren't high, I don't think they were ever high. Because you were high, you thought everyone else was.

(Hey, I keep saying it's an adult blog and there's the occasional f-bomb, get used to it.)

Tomorrow, Carrie with Hugh Jackman. Why am I not Carrie Keegan?

(Something to do with the penis hanging below the keyboard as I type this. And even without it I am a very unattractive woman that you would not be interested in watching on TV or your computer or even in kinescope.)

Because it's a set visit, they call this Deep Inside with Carrie Keegan. I just like you to have all the information available. And the imagery is crucial.

Carrie on.

My Take on the "Doctor Who Has a Mum" News -- Let's Just Wait and See

I think there's something not sounding quite right about this. Also, this sounds like the news out of series three when it was reported that the Doctor had a wife and it was all a part of the Human Nature/Family of Blood two-parter's story arc.

Not that Claire Bloom is not a lovely actress and I'm sure she's in Cardiff shooting something for the show per her assistant's comments to the UK Daily Mail (which I hear also makes a fine fishwrap, btw).

But mother? Actual mother? I can't imagine how the tale of a lonely Time Lord could go on, and the lonely part is certainly key, if his mom is somewhere out there.

Doesn't make sense to me, but I'll be watching for additional news.

How to Watch American Idol on DVR -- The "Not Live" Blog

By Joe, your TV Junkie, age ... older than you.

Fast forward through the first 11 minutes, note that Jamie Foxx has a movie to promote so he's talking at Kris about his song this week from the Sinatra songbook.

Note that Kris is a cutie, yet WAY TOO YOUNG for me to be looking at like that. Nice suit, though, is that Ozwald Boateng? Suit was better than his rendition of The Way You Look Tonight.

Force yourself to watch the judges reactions, even if Randy has become the African-American bear version of Paula. I can't stand this Kara chick and OMG please move on from her. Paula's hair people always get her hair right for the week, nice sculpturing. Simon needs better clothes and stop wearing V-neck T's that look like they've been worn to bed the night before.

And, I think he has pec implants, btw.

Fast forward to 22 minutes in for Allison, I don't need to hear what Jamie Foxx has to say again. Someone to Watch Over Me is a great song for her and she's better than last week. She won't win, though, as they were scorched last year by the stupid remarks of a young Idol winner on an award show and someone with more poise will indeed win this season. Nice performance, though, even if she IS doing an impression of a band singer.

Randy, she does not sound like Pink with more octaves, she sounds her age. Still don't like Kara. Paula's still being overwritten for, as those remarks are not her off the top of her head. Simon's wrong, Allison's teen viewers will come through for her.

Fast forward to 34 minutes in for Matt singing My Funny Valentine, which is a hard sell and he's sharp right off the bat. Uninspired and I don't like the note he ends on, it's too within the chord structure and not outside as per the usual renditions.

More after the jump.

Video -- TV Week's Daisy Whitney Finds My Achilles Heel, New Media Minute Stars Her New Dog

Daisy, you can't do this every week. You do know that, right?

TV Week's Daisy, her new dog, Violet, and some useful info about online video from her New York correspondent Lori Harfenist on standards for the online market.

LINK

Today Show Video -- Hunky Jason Cameron from DIY Net ... Does Something With Plants

It's really not about what he does. Okay, for some of you it is.

And for some of you it's just about Jason. And that's valid, too. You just might not have a yard to tend to and other needs that you are tending to when watching Jason.

I would be remiss not to link to the Desperate Landscapes website at DIY Network, which is at this link. Remiss because if you're gonna objectify a little you should give a little link love back.

Clip after the jump.

I stole this Jason Cameron montage above from someone who posted it at Photobucket, so thanks whoever you are.

If you click it it gets bigger.

I'm just sayin'.

UPDATE: Video -- L&O: SVU With Hilary Duff as Casey Anthony-Inspired Character

With Gayle O'Grady perfectly cast alongside as her mom. You'll remember Hilary was recently heard very loudly in a NYC restaurant having it out with some stranger, allegedy (LINK).

Tonight, 10 pm (really soon for the East Coast) NBC.

UPDATE: And ... the clip expired, so I've deleted it. But I have a highlights clip from the episode and I'm going to put it after the jump.

Did you realize that SVU isn't on Hulu and there aren't even full episodes on NBC.com? I wonder why? Does Dick Wolf's deal preclude that because of the off-network sale? I would post the whole episode here but I don't have the facility to do so. Sorry gang.

Video -- Watch The Fine Bros. New Lost Parody Episode Now

Okay, out of the four characters above, who do you think doesn't make the final frame of the Fine Bros. latest Lost parody episode. Which one? Use those skills that you've developed from being a fan of other shows and you should figure it out and figure out who the guest stars are for this go-round.

With extra Zach Quinto (one more exactly, and why?) and a whole lot of new cash for the people who make the action figures that Benny and Rafi Fine wrestle with 10-year-olds at their local toy store to acquire in a timely manner just for your edification and enjoyment.

And that's not to imply that Benny and Rafi fine like to wrestle with young boys. They are compelled to by you fans that continue to expect them to introduce more outside cast members to their island.

So it's really your fault.

And the clip's after the jump for those of you who bookmark the homepage and come back every day.

I thank you for that, by the way.

Video -- New Jimmy Fallon Tonight? Only on G4's Attack of the Show

Above, G4's woman of gaming and host of G4 Underground (new episode this Sunday at 9 eastern) with Jimmy from her appearance on his show last April 9. Watch a clip at this link.

He joins Kevin tonight live in studio. On Attack of the Show. Tonight at 7 eastern, and then over and over and ... over.

Kevin Pereira, c'mon people you don't have to have his name branded on your behind but you could just make a note of it, he's the host.

(With that chick that falls into pie. No, she does, seriously. Clip after the jump.)

Also after the jump, from last week's Jimmy, Neil Patrick Harris (promoting the TV Land Awards, my red carpet gallery at this link) does a magic trick for Fallon.

Petition: Bring BBC World News to US 24/7 on Cable

Friend of the blog John Parsons is spearheading this campaign that I think is a natural. More news on TV is always better, and this news on TV would make everyone on our news channels better. It's the competition thing, it does work!

This is especially timely considering all the global news stories that are affecting us right now, from piracy to swine flu to the international financial crisis.

At PetitionOnline.com:

We are tired of the monopoly that CNN, Fox News and MSNBC have on our choices for cable news services. We are fed up with figuring out which channel is the most in-depth. We don’t appreciate it when we tune our television sets to their channels just to find them covering celebrity gossip when we expect truly important news events to have precedence. And, finally, we find the constant repetition of domestic stories at the expense of international ones that have just as much implications to our world dull and uninteresting.

At the same time, more and more Americans are realizing that the world is shrinking at an ever-faster pace. They are tired of being caught off-guard when a major international event happens and then having to scramble to find out all that they can about it. In short, American consumers are demanding knowledge about the world around them and international current events from a source they know and trust.

Keep reading at this link, and go sign this.

Can't hurt, can only help, and the personal information you have to leave to sign is minimal and non-invasive.

I will continue to keep you updated on the progress of this through John and I'll have a static link in the left hand column soon.

Sit Down, Shut Up -- Now That Fox Has Voiced Their Opinion ...

... I feel free as a bird to voice mine.

I usually wait until I've seen three, something I got from Rob that I thought was a very good idea for all of us who write about TV on the web.

Now, I can with no reservations say that this is the single worst attempt at making an animated comedy for prime time that I have ever seen in my life.

The Oblongs is Pulitzer material compared to this. Mission Hill is the Citizen Kane of animated comedy compared to this.

And considering the top notch talent that is involved? They should all be ashamed of themselves, so much so that they should change their names and get jobs in the wonderful world of health care administration or ... dogcatching.

All of you need to back away from the computer or drawing board or microphone and just think about what you're doing.

I have nothing else to say, except this:

Bad TV makers, Bad! Bad! BAD!

Hollywood Reporter:

Starting next week, "Sit Down" will air at 7 p.m. instead, a low-rated hour that's only considered "primetime" on Sundays. Repeats of "American Dad" will fill 7:30 p.m.

The remaining episodes of the final season of "King of the Hill" will ride to the rescue, filling the 8:30 p.m. slot. The rest of Fox's lineup remains unchanged. 

Are Brits Really Placing Bets on Who Will Play Deceased UK Reality TV Star Jade Goody?

Dear Friends from Britain,

When we hear stuff like this in the States, we either don't believe that people are actually wagering or we don't want to believe it (because it's a sucker's bet as far as I can tell), but I think you, my British readers can shed some light on this.

I thought it was strange that people would bet on who would be Doctor #11, too. I mean, it's not like it's a game that is won or lost on a field, there are people who know who's gonna be cast and they could, and in the case of Matt Smith apparently did, go out and wager on it once the casting decision was made.

Now I'm seeing news pop up from my Billie Piper Google alert that she's 6-1 to play Jade Goody, the British reality TV star, in a film about her life that may or may not be made, which I say because I haven't seen anything definitive in the press.

Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty) is the odds-on favorite, by the way.

My issues here:

• Why would anyone want to play Jade Goody in a movie, anyway? Wasn't she not very well liked until she announced her cervical cancer diagnosis? Didn't she say some rather racist things to Indian actress Shilpa Shetty on UK Big Brother?
• Did having cancer really make you all change your opinion of her?
• Has she done anything more than be a reality show contestant and contract cervical cancer?

I just don't get it. Anything you got for me can go in the comment section. Thanks.

Heroes Nowhere Man Part II and More With David Lawrence (but that will come later)

Just to let you know, I had the second part of my interview with David Lawrence ready to go and then I clicked over from Facebook to the piece BuzzFocus ran yesterday on him and it's almost all the same quotes and subjects, so I'm gonna send you over there to read what they did today and I'll come up with something else from my hour of audio with him.

But in the meantime, the second part of Nowhere Man is live at NBC.com at this link and I haven't even watched it yet so have at it gang and I'll be back with more David in the next day or so.

Video -- Conservatives Don't Think Stephen Colbert is Joking, Ohio State U. Study Reveals

Hat tip to HuffPo.

From The Irony of Satire, Political Ideology and the Motivation to See What You Want to See in The Colbert Report, study by Heather L. LaMarre and others (abstract, full copy of paper costs $20 at this link):

This study investigated biased message processing of political satire in The Colbert Report and the influence of political ideology on perceptions of Stephen Colbert. Results indicate that political ideology influences biased processing of ambiguous political messages and source in late-night comedy. Using data from an experiment (N = 332), we found that individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of Colbert's political ideology. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism. Finally, a post hoc analysis revealed that perceptions of Colbert's political opinions fully mediated the relationship between political ideology and individual-level opinion.

I am sending off an email to Ms. La Marre and I hope to do a phone thing with her if she's available. Though I think it would be so bitchin' if she could get a spot on the show itself and see how Stephen could turn this inside out on itself as he is so great at doing.

Colbert highlight clip from last week's shows after the jump.

I think that there are many so-called conservatives who are that because their churches tell them they are. They aren't of course, though as social conservatives they think that they are political conservatives.

The thing is that how they would like to reshape the country into something theocratic is not politically conservative at all and in fact would be a major overhaul of the beliefs upon which this nation is based, and it shows a serious lack of understanding by those people of the issues at play.

And, I surmise that many of these people, and more on the way, are the product of a home schooling process that allows their parents to bombard them with religious ideology and tie that ideology into a purported "school environment" that just completely screws with the kids' heads.

One of the reasons that I'm so opposed to home schooling and charter schools and public support for religious education is that the line between fact and storytelling gets blurred and we end up with uninformed kids who think just like their folks, thus stopping the evolution of thought from one generation of a family to another.

3 Clips -- Fast Company Magazine: Chuck Exec Producer McG, Billionaire Tom Siebel and Meth in Montana

As today is Happy Buffet Monday (meaning I pick up some magazines and trot off to Happy Buffet for some great Chinese food and magazine reading), I thought I'd share my findings from the current issue of Fast Company magazine, the issue with Chuck Exec Prod McG on the cover with a Terminator (McG's the one with skin).

About the film and TV powerhouse, their story by Mark Borden reveals this concerning a Superman project the producer/director/writer/songwriter/music video maker was heading off to start:

He'd spent the prior year planning storyboards and concept art, and making casting decisions based on a script he had commissioned from J.J. Abrams. After various false starts -- Warner had already sunk north of $20 million into the project -- the film had a bright green light. Outside Sydney, trailers were ready for actors, soundstages were completed, and more than 1,000 production people were on the payroll, waiting for their director.

McG had known this moment was coming. He'd followed his preproduction ritual of watching the Apocalypse Now documentary Hearts of Darkness, a reminder that no matter how bad things get during production, they could be worse. He had taken what he thought were the necessary precautions. He thought he could keep his terror secret. He was sure that when the time came, he'd be ready.

"I was staring at the terminal, knowing I didn't have what it took to get on," says McG today. "It just put me in that fetal position in the corner, saying, 'What have I become?' I had to look into the abyss and experience that find-my-character moment -- and realized I didn't have it."

Yes, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger. That's how it works, I get you to click over and they don't mind so much that I use three graphs to get you there. It's good, though, and you really need to click to it and give it a read.

The other story is by James Verini about Tom Siebel, formerly of Oracle Systems, who moved to Montana with his Oracle money, looked around, didn't like what he saw, and started doing something about it:

Siebel was hunting a lot with John Stevens, a Cascade County lieutenant sheriff. Whenever they got together, Stevens would describe the worsening meth problem. By 2005, meth accounted for half of all incarcerations in Montana. "I was getting called out every night to go to labs. In Cascade County, 95% of the crime you could link back to meth," Stevens says. Former attorney general McGrath adds: "Those of us in law enforcement had never seen anything like it. The kinds of crimes we saw were much more violent. We had domestic crimes and homicides before, but not with these incredibly violent aspects." As Siebel heard the tales of Montana's meth-induced spiral, "you could see the wheels spinning," Stevens says.

What resulted was a salesman's epiphany: Meth was an inferior product. "There's no glamorous side to it," Siebel says, as his chef takes our soup bowls and sets down slabs of prime rib. "I am not on a big antidrug mission, and I'm not on the religious right. With all of these other things -- cocaine, alcohol, marijuana -- there are some positive effects. You can relax. You can concentrate. I'd even argue there are some positive effects to cigarettes." An ex-smoker, Siebel quit just before he and his wife, Stacey, had the first of their four children. "Meth has no positive effects. It's such an easy product to work with.

From there, Siebel founded The Meth Project with his own startup funds and produced very specific ads for TV from some big name directors including Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem For a Dream), Tony Kaye (American History X -- though his name does not appear on the final product Kaye is most famous for his involvement with that picture) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, Babel, 21 Grams).

You can see one commercial from each director in a clip after the jump.

Good reading at lunch today. I like to share. The clips are hard to watch, but I think as effective as anything I've seen in the arena.

Today Show Video -- Swine Flu Explained by Snyderman with Update, CDC Links, NY Times Update

Yes, yes, they're very cute. Swine flu is not. You should have information instead of living in fear.

First, if you're worried you should go to the CDC website at this link and bookmark it, just so you have it. Some people have immune system issues that make this a particularly worrisome issue I understand, and knowledge is power.

NYTimes.com's The Lede blog:

As news of the swine flu outbreak spreads world-wide via the Web, The Lede is tracking the response online. The first update, at 11:29 this morning, points to resources on the history of the 1918 global flu pandemic.

And they follow that which actual through-the-day updates, so that's a good place, too. And Robert Mackey knows his stuff in a variety of areas and the blog is very well sourced.

Two clips after the jump. First Today's medical editor Nancy Snyderman with a great and calm explanation of what's going on.

Then, an interview with Dr. Richard Besser from the CDC.

And there are more clips at the Today Show video page, which is at this link.

So don't live in fear and ignorance. And act smart. Wash your hands and suggest others do more of that. No need for OCD level behavior, but smart is smart.

Sometimes, but kind of rarely lately, the Today show actually has news that's important to you if you haven't been meeting strangers on Craigslist for sex.

Of course, the story right after this was about Phillip Markoff the alleged Craigslist killer cruising for other guys on the site, too. Hey, everyone's money spends the same at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. And he wasn't gonna have sex with any of them so why not target men, too?

Sociopaths are among us, remember that. Always.

I Have Obtained Glee And It is Glorious and Funny and You Will Love It

It's a TV show. On Fox. Premieres after the first night of the American Idol finale, May 19, at 9 (8 eastern).

I got a screener.

(You didn't think I was transcendentally meditating or that I hooked up with some brain draining cult, did you? Because I'm not that easily swayed, unless it involves baked goods and Tyson Beckford.)

It's about what happens at McKinley High in this Ohio town a teacher who used to be a student here decides to step up and do something for himself and the kids in his charge by taking over their flailing glee club and return it to the prominence it enjoyed when he was part of the group.

I can't say too much because what I saw was a rough cut and I was asked not to write a review, per se, because of that, but a few comments I'm sure would be fine, especially considering how much I enjoyed it.

(Can't imagine Kevin Reilly would mind a little kvelling over his show, even if he doesn't know what kvelling means.)

Lea Michelle, who plays the very annoying at first character Rachel Berry (above left), this girl is perfectly cast and has one of those voices that gives you gooseflesh. You'll think of a young Idina Menzel.

Matthew Morrison (Will) sings and plays guitar during the pilot and has one of those rubbery comic faces that he can activate at any moment.

You'll enjoy Jessalyn Gilsig, who is quite different from her Heroes role and creates quite the plot point/dilemma for the show's hero, Will, in this pilot.

Jane Lynch as the cheerleading advisor seems ready to explode with something inappropriate at any time, with very funny results. The rest of the teaching staff and administration including another Heroes vet, Jayma Mays, are also great and add to the environment.

The jock who gets hoodwinked into joining the glee club, Finn (Cory Monteith) may be the most surprising find, and you'll really take notice when he opens his mouth to sing. Also, Amber Riley (a Long Beach native) has pipes like you wouldn't believe.

And there's so much more but I don't wanna say too much. Go watch as many clips as you can get your hands on from the Fox Broadcasting YouTube account and if you like this kind of thing get ready to be blown away. Perfect companion for Idol, I have to say, and nice to see people singing and dancing on TV again. Without Simon Cowell there telling them what they did wrong, that is.

I know there are those of you who have a problem with people breaking out into song in the middle of your shows. I just can't imagine you'll have a problem with that here. Unless you're just a downer. And you're not a downer, no one who reads here is a downer.

Thank you Ryan Murphy, I'm really going to enj0y this. I would love to come down to the set if you're inviting.

2 Clips -- Chuck Season Finale Tonight! Do NOT Make This the Series Finale

Okay, before anything else I have to remind you to read my impassioned plea to save this show. At this link.

And now, something new ... I think there's a possibility of there being something we don't know about Emmett (Tony Hale, below left). Something sneaky. Something shocking. Something crummy. Something Fulcrum-my, even.

Whaddaya think? You think I might have something there? Discuss below.

On the Chuck website today a note that says, "If you love Chuck, show your support by watching this Monday's Finale at 8/7 central."

Well, that's a start. Visiting their site (LINK) is another way, and showing some love at the NBC forums or commenting on a photo from this season would also be a good idea. Calling NBC in Los Angeles or New York right after the episode to voice your support might be good, too. Those numbers are available everywhere.

It shocks me that TV this good could be at risk of cancellation.

Two clips after the jump ... a very very long preview clip (in fact I think it's everything up to the first commercial break) and a behind the scenes clip from shooting this episode.

Don't let Chuck go away. You gotta take a stand somewhere and this is a good place to start. If you don't there will be more Trumps and overweight people and big-chinned clowns on TV than ever before and I just won't have it.

And, since when do you not show up when you're invited to a wedding? Be polite and show up, gang.

HBO True Blood News -- Preview Blu-Ray Features of S2 DVD at HBO On Demand May 4

This post is especially for Jolie and Anne-Marie, because some shows I love because inside I'm just a young Italian--American woman from Long Island, though certainly not as pretty as they are.

(That just might be the most honest thing I have ever said on this blog.)

Anyway ... (from the HBO press release):

Beginning May 4, and throughout the month on HBO On Demand, viewers will be able to watch the entire first episode from Season One in “True Blood Enhanced Viewing” mode, amplifying their experience with four types of original, interactive picture-in-picture, pop-up features that will be showcased throughout the DVD:

Lafayette – viewers can get the scoop on everyone in Bon Temps with True Blood’s flamboyant and outspoken Lafayette, who dishes up everything from secrets about Tara ’s crush on Jason to the history of the Stackhouse family.

Vampire History – viewers intrigued by the vampire characters can learn more about how their favorites were “made.”

Hints and FYIs  –  viewers get to unravel the mysteries surrounding the entire series through helpful hints and FYI pop-ups.

Animated Maps – viewers get to explore colorful locations in Bon Temps through animated maps.

Available in stores May 19, TRUE BLOOD -- THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON BLU-RAY™ DVD will offer all 12 episodes in True HD 1080p video and DTS-HD master audio, allowing viewers to engage with storylines, characters and themes of the show on a higher level through the “Enhanced Viewing” mode.  Along with the exclusive features listed above, Blu-ray bonus materials include a documentary that chronicles the integration of vampires, “Tru Blood” beverage ads that market the synthetic blood to “out of the coffin” vampires, and “Vampire Rights” PSAs.

And, of course gang, Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten, above right) in full 1080p high definition video. Of course I'm only interested in that so I can gauge how a lifestyle high in outdoor activity and advanced yoga training affects the bodies of young attractive Australians who surf.

So, it's all science for me. Science. That's right, science.

New season starts Sunday June 14 on HBO.

Here's their website. (LINK)

After the jump, from season one, Lafayette makes a simple request. "Just dance, Jason, just dance!"

In his tighty whiteys.

Clip Bonanza! -- Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders Are Awarded the BAFTA Fellowship; Skins, Mad Men, Harry Hill Also Win

It is the British Film Academy's highest honor given for work in television.

Ms. Saunders to the audience at the BAFTA TV Awards:

Although we have sort of retired the act, we  haven't actually retired ourselves. So, we are available for any important work you're doing in the future,  you know the award-winning films, not the shit just the award winning things.

More coverage of the event from the BBC at this link. Audience award went to Channel 4's E4 teen drama Skins, which is a favorite here at this blog. Hannah Murray, possibly the next Doctor Who companion and Kaya Scoledario were there to accept.

My Skins posts at this link. Pics of them at the awards at this link at Pop Sugar.

BAFTA acceptance clips after the jump, first F & S and then Harry Hill who won for his self-titled Harry Hill's TV Burp.

Also a clip from Harry's show for those unfamiliar. It's a format the somewhat resembles E!'s The Soup.

AMC's Mad Men, which shows in the UK on BBC Four, won for best international programme.

Full list of winners at this link.

Once again, the BAFTAs failed to recognize the glory and the splendor that is every moment and every frame of Doctor Who.

And, I wanna try something here ... if you want to see this awards show, even in an edited form, on BBC America, leave a comment below with your desire for the same and maybe we can get something going on that. 'Cause I don't see anything scheduled. I'd rather see this show than another two hours of Ramsay telling someone their restaurant's bad, certainly.

I don't know people, and I don't know people who know people, but I do know people who know people who know people. You know?

30 Rock's Judah Friedlander Interviews Me at the TV Land Awards Red Carpet

Sadly, no embed codes, so you'll have to click over to their site.

Click this link then click the clip link titled Judah Runs Wild.

I show up at 1:04 in the clip.

That was very cool. Judah and I have the same committment to physical fitness, too.

Which means not much.

Already Missing Bea Arthur, 1922 - 2009

What can you say? Bea Arthur has been Bea Arthur all my life.

Pioneer, progressive activist, comedy legend, star.

I remember my very Catholic Aunt Eileen having a fit when she found me at her house watching the episode of Maude when she decided to get the abortion.

Saturday nights in the 80s existed solely for The Golden Girls.

She won Emmys for both roles.

She played opposite Angela Lansbury on Broadway, winning her Tony Award, and opposite Lucille Ball on film in Mame as Vera Charles!

The former Bernice Frankel was born in New York in 1922, May 13 would have been her 87th brithday.

People have to go eventually, but this one just hurts a little more than the rest. She was a funny, fabulous woman and I'll miss seeing her.

TV Land Awards Tonight at 8 Eastern -- My Red Carpet Photo Gallery Here Right Now

So finally after much ado, here are my pics from the TV Land Awards red carpet. It was hot as (fill in your expletive of choice) that day ... I still have the farmer tan to prove it.

I'm going to try to do these in order of them being taken (by me, as you'll notice I'm not quite the photog I once was when shooting boxing pics in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum (that's how long ago it was, it was STILL called the Felt Forum), but these people don't move as fast as Pete Padilla, either.

(Sure, I could have gone with a better known fighter for that reference, but it was meeting Pete's kids and talking to Pete about the other job he did to keep paying his gym fees to train, and then watching the blood spurt from his head when being punched that let me know that I wasn't gonna be a boxing writer/photographer for long. I just couldn't know that much about a guy and then make money to watch him get beat up, it made me sad.)

This show airs tonight at 8, check your cable guide for what channel is TV Land, and maybe you just hang there to see what else is going on. I know Mitchell Squires from TV Land (thanks for the invite, I had a great time) would be thrilled if you would start watching The Cougar or the new season of She's Got the Look this year, and you'll see people from those shows in my pics, too.

I was ultimately disappointed that I didn't get Alex Kingston to get over to my part of the red carpet to talk, but Ha Ha! (as The Simpsons' Nelson Munch would say) I got to speak to Anthony Head since, so I've already met a Doctor Who guest star, so there.

To be fair it was so hot I wouldn't even have walked the red carpet with dress clothes and makeup (not that I'm a makeup wearer, you can tell by my photo in the left column), and I think all the women who did were very brave.

My pics after the jump, watch the show tonight on TV Land hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.

NBC Summer Press Day -- Anthony Head, Blagojevich, Janice Dickinson, Lisa Ann Walter, Tori, More ...

I'll have much more in the days ahead (including my pics, which I'm just not gonna download till tomorrow -- I need a day of rest), but I wanted to give you a taste of what I experienced yesterday at the lovely Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa during the NBC Summer Press event.

First of all, thank you to whoever decided that I should be there. Everyone from the NBC interns to the publicists for the various shows (especially Nikki Lichterman) to the cable channel people to the hotel staff were lovely, even the woman in the gift shop who told me the only TV she watched was Fox News.

(Can you imagine having a TV just so that you sit in front of Bill-O and Manatee and Glenn Beck? I'd rather have no TV at all. I'd rather read books. I'd rather give up pork-filled dumplings!)

And the hotel? If you have a chance, go visit it. The grounds are beautiful and tranquil and well-tended. The hotel itself I didn't see much of, I was either in a conference room or the hospitality suite eating cookies and drinking coffee.

(Best junket coffee ever, btw!)

We locals don't get to a lot of the area hotels, unless of course we're picked up at bars by tourists. Speaking of which, the Loew's Santa Monica Beach Resort is lovely, too. But that's another story for another blog (under an assumed name).

My first thing was an 8:30 interview with Anthony Head who plays Uther Pendragon this summer in Merlin (first series already run on BBC One). What a delightful guy. We talked not only about Merlin but also his Doctor Who appearance in series two and his work on DW Confidential, we talked about David Tennant and Little Britain's David Walliams (he played the prime minister in the Sebastian sketches, as you'll remember), his character in Free Agents on ITV and I have lots on Merlin as well which is all recorded and I'll be listening back to in a couple days. Very charming guy, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.

Now onto Southland ... I don't think Ben McKenzie heard it when I gasped as he walked onto the stage, at least I don't think so. It might not have been audible. He's just stunning. Of course, he was also not the person I was there to talk to in the mingling portion after the panel as I wanted to get to Michael Cudlitz who plays gay officer John Cooper in the show.

Interesting note about Cudlitz, he lives in a house in LA with his wife and kids that he built. And I don't mean he hired the contractors I mean he built it. He seems to be a very serious guy and very proud of the series, which he has every right to be, it's outstanding.

The I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Outta Here panel became a Rod Blagojevich circus the second he walked in and took a seat on the dais. In fact so much so that this was the panel I asked my first question, if only to get some of the focus away from Blago. After the panel the press made their beeline to him and I made mine ... to Janice Dickinson, because ... well she might say anything and I wanted to be there for it. She's not as crazy nuts as she is on TV, pretty smart lady in fact and she looks good very close up (I was practically pressed against her later and it all checked out). She also helped me not fall off the stage which I appreciated. Much more on her, including her remarks about Carrie Prejean, the Miss California with the gay problem, tomorrow.

Lisa Ann Walter (Shall We Dance, War of the Worlds, the TV series Life's Work and Emeril) has a new unscripted thing on Oxygen called Dance Your Ass Off, hosted by Marissa Jaret Winokur, who over course got most of the after panel attention, but I went to Lisa Ann because there's only one thing better than a funny person and that's a funny woman and she certainly delivered. And, strangely, she told me stuff I'm sure she doesn't tell just any writer and I told her things I haven't told some of my better friends. She should be my new best friend but as she's in Sherman Oaks she's not someone you can just pop over and see. Slightly geographically undesireable, though I would take the drive to mix up daiquiris by her pool, watch TV and dish. And, what a great heinie on her! I made her show it off for a couple pics, I'll also have them for you later in the week.

Tori & Dean ... together always. Really. When you see pics from the event, ladies should note that the dress and the shoes are from Topshop, apparently she flew east for the opening of the NYC store. Dean McDermott was finally someone (besides John Salley who as a former NBA-er doesn't count in this instance) who I have seen on TV that's actually my height. And he's very striking looking in person. I get it now. Tori is small woman but unlike the headlines of doom from this week's Star it didn't seem to me like she was starving herself or being unhealthy, either.

And finally (but just in this post, always toward the top of the list in my heart) was Isaac Mizrahi who is just exactly like he is on TV in person. Warm, as confessional in the public sphere as I am (he showed a couple of us he was wearing Spanx), gracious, endearing ... what can I say, Isaac makes me smile. And he's really gifted, not just in his area of expertise either. This series he's doing on Bravo, The Fashion Show (with co-host Kelly Rowland, who looks so scorching hot, btw) has a web component and a live audience component, so it's no Project Runway clone at all. It seems to take it up a notch, in fact.

So much more from this day ... it will be here in the days ahead.

Thanks again to my hosts, that beautiful man who held the door open for me wearing the Jeff Goldblum t-shirt (I also, btw, have some Vincent D'Onofrio conversation to share later), and anyone I left out.

Later on, my answer to the question, "Do you think Simon Cowell had pec implants?"

Stay tuned.

Video -- Guest Voice Chace Crawford Tommorrow on Family Guy

Which also means a new episode which always makes Sunday night a better night.

You can say that Chace's character is responsible for the condition Stewie has gotten in, pictured above.

Sharing a birthday (as many of my Facebook friends know)? Me and Seth MacFarlane.

And Hillary Clinton. And Billie Piper's little boy.

And "Julie, your cruise director" Lauren Tewes.

Clip after the jump. 9 pm, Fox.

Readers, I'm Gone Till After West Coast Dinnertime Tonight

No comments will be approved after now, so please don't hit that send button over and over and expect something different to happen.

I'll be back with news on the NBC Summer schedule, my interview with Anthony Head from Merlin and hopefully (cross your fingers), a few moments with Michael Cudlitz from Southland.

Talk amongst yourselves. Too early in the morning for me to come up with a topic better than this:

Why would GE shareholders pelt Jeff Immelt with complaints about the successful & money making MSNBC Olbermann/Maddow duo unless they had other motivations than the bottom line? Like their ideology? And how many of these shareholders own more than one share of GE stock?!?

Discuss.

Last Call: Happy Birthday Valerie Bertinelli, You Are Fabulous!

Now she's 49. I usually don't mention the age of actresses on the blog, but since it was on the People cover above I guess it's not a secret.

She's six months and three days older than me and she looks so much younger and ... better.

I'd love to say it was all the hard living I've done but there hasn't been a whole lot of hard living at all. Unless you count all the snack cakes and diet soda (I know, I-RONY)!

So, happy 49th Val. You look great, you're charming and lovely and I'm so happy you're once again part of the zeitgeist.

Read all my VB posts at this link.

And, I've switched to Green Tea, btw. No phenylalinine, no carbonation and no caffeine.

For Those of You Who Read Here And At The Medium Is Not Enough by Rob Buckley

I'm absolutely insisting that you click this link.

Just do it, friends!

And if you don't know Rob, read his blog at this link but still, click the link above!

Good day, sir.

Best Progressive Talker Randi Rhodes Returning to Radio Monday May 11

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And I've never thanks Premiere Radio Networks, the ClearChannel arm that gives you Druggy Limbaugh before. This is a first.

Radio Ink magazine has the press release this is the whole thing I'm posting:

Premiere Radio Networks adds The Randi Rhodes Show to its lineup of nationally syndicated shows, beginning May 11. The show will broadcast live from Washington, DC, and early affiliates will include KTLK/Los Angeles, KKGN/San Francisco, and KPOJ/Portland, OR.

"Randi has carved a niche in talk radio with her straight-forward approach, intelligence, wit, and fact-driven content -- qualities that attract audiences," said Premiere EVP/Affiliate Marketing Julie Talbott. "We can't wait to deliver The Randi Rhodes Show to stations nationwide."

Rhodes said, "Right now, America needs a voice that reflects its hopes and concerns. It will be my privilege and pleasure to provide vital information to the public about everything that is possible in the 21st century, and also have a few laughs along the way. Premiere is an incredible family of radio pros, and is truly the most talented and experienced radio syndicator in the nation. I'm exited about this decision and Premiere's enthusiasm for this partnership. It's truly a dream come true."

Call your progressive talk station in your town and tell them that centrist & serial Congressional  candidate (who lost to Obama in the 2004 IL senate race) Nancy Skinner, that has been on many stations in Randi's stead during her Nova M problems is just not cutting it for you.

Skinner actually talked the other day about Olbermann and Janeane Garofalo being so over the top, her words, on their tea party coverage and the very apparent racism displayed during those events. Did she not bother to watch the coverage or even look at the pics? The posters that the teabaggers were carrying?

Or was she trying to placate other centrists so that she could run for another Senate or House seat she wouldn't get. First Illinois, then Michigan? Carpetbagger much?

(And yes, I said the same thing about Hillary when she ran for the NY US Senate seat.)

And then, she asked a caller the other day if he wanted prosecutions of the CIA torturers or did he want health care, as if our government couldn't possibly give us both.

She just sucked!

More on Randi's Nova M issues at this link.

So great to have Randi back on the air. I'm kvelling for you, Randi!

Clip Bonanza -- Doctor Who News: X-Files' Gillian Anderson As The Rani

Many sources on this one, including the UK Telegraph:

The 40-year-old, best known for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi drama, is expected to be cast opposite the new Doctor Matt Smith.

Doctor Who's makers want the London-based actress to appear in a one-off special episode as a deadly enemy of the Time Lord.

Now this is the kind of casting that might finally help Doctor Who break through to a mainstream US audience.

As much as I'd like to think that there are enough fans here in the States to call it a mainstream hit I don't really think it qualifies.

The Rani, played by Kate O'Mara (right) in two eps on the classic Who right before the show got cancelled in the late 80s, is a glamourous Time Lady who has a problem or two with the Doctor, who, by the time Gillian gets started on this gig will be #11 Matt Smith.

Why she looks familiar to gay cult TV audiences in the US? She was Patsy Stone's sister Jackie on Ab Fab. And that was quite the wicked turn for her in the episodes Happy New Year and Cold Turkey. (I'll look for a clip and post it after the jump.)

And she was Cassandra Morrell, Alexis' sister on Dynasty, which frankly I never watched unless I was sitting in The Revolver in WeHo with a tumbler of vodka staring down some pretty boy. Oh, it happened once, don't give me grief.

So, with Gillian being (mumblemumble -- not nice to ask a woman her age) years old and Intern Who being, what, 12 (?!?) will there be sexual tension? I guess we all have to remember that the Doctor is 904 years old.

"Time travel, do it for younger looking skin and crazy frakked-up lustrous hair!"

Gillian is based in London now where she does some nice film work and a lot of theatre.

After the jump I'm clipping you out with three of 'em, Kate O'Mara as Jacks on Ab Fab, Kate from Classic Who as The Rani (not great quality, but it's watchable) and then some Gillian and David Duchovny bloopers from X-Files.

Because I come bearing clips.

Links in this post are very instructional to anyone who hasn't watched the classic series. I add them because I had to learn a little something myself about this character.

One more thing, I betcha a glamorous Time Lady circa 2010 doesn't have such big shoulder pads, but then again it was the fashion at the time.

Ask the Dynasty fans.

UPDATED: Video -- Cast of Fox's Glee Treks to Long Beach CA's Cabrillo High for Photoshoot

UPDATE: I finally got embed codes from Fox, so the clip is here, after the jump for you homepagers.

From Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch blog (Tim Stack):

I have seen the pilot of Fox's new series Glee, which premieres May 19 after American Idol, and I am officially obsessed. I've watched it all the way through twice and have re-screened the performance numbers more times than I can count. It's becoming a little ridiculous. I may have to join some kind of support group. The series, which centers around a outcast-filled high school glee club, completely won me over. But it's the performance scenes that truly keep me coming back.

Check out a bunch of performance clips from the show at this link and this one and this one, all YouTube.

I'm trying to get a screener of this from Fox so that I can bring you some non-spoilery goodness from the pilot.

Jane Lynch goes network prime time? That's just the best news all year.

LOVE Jane.

Jane was one of the driving forces behind that The Gaythering Storm parody ad on Funny or Die that I posted a couple days ago.

Clips are all going after the jump today, as the page is loading slowly right now and I don't wanna disappoint anyone.

(Lots of traction on that US Fidelis clip from the Today show might be slowing down server response? I'm not entirely sure -- and I'm not entirely a tech geek, though I fake it really well.)

Glee is from Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck) and as I was a chorus geek in high school I'm chomping to get my hands on this before the Tuesday May 19th premiere. It's being given a plumb after Idol timeslot.

Also stars friend of the blog David Lawrence's friend Jessalyn Gilsig, Matthew Morrison, who was the guy with the outstanding vocal AND bicep development in the recent Broadway production of South Pacific with Kelly O'Hara, and Canadian actor Cory Monteith (recurring on Kyle XY and the not-picked up US pilot of Mistresses).

I'm still waiting for embed codes from Fox Publicity, but I promise that I'll post the clip here when I get them. In the meantime, you can click over to it at this link but come back.

Always come back. I miss you when you're gone.

My Favorite Andrea Anders Lines from Last Night's Better Off Ted & ABC Renewal News

To Ted: "You love rules. You should marry a rule and have little rule children and build a house made of rules."

About the OctoChicken: "It freaked me out when it came down from its web"

To Ted about the lab people: "How do you manage all those scientists with their egos and bickering and full-frontal nerdity?"

To the security guard Ryan: "Oh shoot. It's not the card, it's these damned breasts of mine. I'm taking a new medication and it's making them so big and perky."

To Ryan, again: "Oh my God, there were vaginas everywhere."

To Ted again: "Hey, my boobs worked their ass off!"

Don't cancel this show, ABC. At least run it again this summer so that it can be discovered. It's so funny.

My favorite Ted line? "With great junk comes great responsibility."

I agree, Ted.

THR this AM:

ABC announced renewals for 12 established series, including reality stalwarts "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelor" and top dramas "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives."

Also receiving an early pickup for next season are dramas "Brothers & Sisters," "Grey's Anatomy," "Ugly Betty" and "Private Practice" and unscripted veterans "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Wife Swap," "Supernanny" and "America's Funniest Home Videos."

The dozen join "Lost," which is set to return for its final season as part of a three-season pickup in 2007.

(snip)

Absent from the list: ABC's entire freshman class, including struggling midseason efforts such as "The Unusuals," "Better Off Ted," "Castle" and "In the Motherhood" as well as import "Scrubs."

ABC's also once again thinking about picking up Old Christine from CBS if that network axes the show. But I think they should stick with their comedies that have already gotten some juice on their own air as I believe it's easier to promo something that already has some sampling going on than a new show, which I know is antithetical from the current network philosophy.

Clip widget from ABC after the jump. I want this one to stay, too. This, Chuck, Samantha Who? ... I know that Better Off Ted is a hit that just needs a little nurturing. And it would work really well in a block with possible pilot pickup No Heroics.

Better Off Ted site at this link at ABC.com.

Next week's show? "Ted and Veronica try fixing things when a survey reveals that Veridian employees are miserable."

Wednesday at 8:30, ABC. Just record whatever you usually watch at the time and watch it live, especially you Nielsen families!

Andrea reminds me a lot (and not just because of the physical similarities) of my pal Carrie Keegan from NGTV.com.

Jay Harrington (above left) is a very very good lookin' man, huh?. And really funny.

And, I like the addition of Maz Jobrani and Carla Jiminez in the lab.

Visit the Veridian Dynamics site at this link.

Reported: Lohan, Hudgens Circling Cagney & Lacey Theatrical Film

I dunno if I quite believe this, but I have to tell you this ... if they did it in the same style as the Owen Wilson/ Ben Stiller Starsky & Hutch? I'd totally watch it on demand.

Of course, I'd never see this in theatres. Theatres suck. Kids are rude. Even their 'rents talk on the phone. That's not cool, even during the trailers. And no texting during the movie, I can see the ironic halo of satan coming from your phone's screen.

And the crazies would come out for a Lohan film.

What? Oh, that's just Dina Lohan? Sorry, my bad. I'll try not to visit any theatres near Merrick, LI. My old gastroenterologist lives right by Dina. (Strange but true TV Junkie trivia.)

Hometown Hollywood:

One is an embattled former child star, the other, a singing and dancing brunette once embroiled in a nude photo scandal, but now there is talk of bringing former Disney actresses Lindsay Lohan and Vanessa Hudgens together for a big screen remake of the 1970s police drama Cagney and Lacey.

After the jump, see the original and still wonderful Cagney and Lacey, Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, from their appearance a while back on The Graham Norton Show.They've hidden a mic and a speaker in a local ladies' public restroom and Tyne and Sharon (seen above right with Helen Mirren on a red carpet from a bit back) are having some fun with the visitors there.

Watch the Video for Landon Pigg's AT&T Commercial Song Falling ... Here, NOW!

I'm downloading it from iTunes right now, and I'm posting the video in a clip from Yahoo! Music (who always has the newest stuff WITH embed codes) after the jump.

About him (Pigg) from his site:

Ask Landon Pigg about his formative years and he’ll be the first to tell you he escaped from the clutches of normalcy. He tends to get a nosebleed more often than most, but he likes it when life happens naturally, and for him, it has seemed to flow that way from his very first day – August 6th, 1983. Born in Nashville, TN, he moved to Chicago as a child and it was there he learned to appreciate that flow; to read and write and ride a bike, and eventually, to have that bike stolen by a gang of ruffians from the city along with other typical childhood setbacks and milestones.

Soon, back to Nashville it was, where Landon applied himself to more benign interests such as Algebra and Chemistry and – lucky for everyone who has heard his debut RCA album, LP – Music - learning to make his own sounds as he began to rifle through the wonders of his dad’s record collection.

The actual song title is Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop, but that's too long for the headline, and I'm the long headline king.

iTunes link here.

Click the top link above for more on him. Clip after the jump for the homepagers out there.

Comedy Central's Krod Mandoon -- What's Rob Think?

I never did get back to Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire after previewing the show in this post and then watching the pilot.

Then again, I never watched more than the pilot.

And, like Rob Buckley implies, it's not bad ... and it's not great either:

So Kröd's scared of germs and gives his troop performance evaluations; Anaka leaves the group for a while for the pagan festival in which she must sleep with 300 men, although Kröd only thought that her saying she was sexually adventurous meant she might be up for a threesome and "some light bondage"; Dongalor has a weapon of mass destruction hidden in his basement and the emperor (Emperor Zanus - as in "Have you seen my uncle Zanus?" Yes, that's the level we're working at) sends a weapons inspector to find it; and so on.

Everything almost works, but it's not quite there, since everyone seems to be thinking that it's all so funny in and of itself, they don't really need to work too hard. Delivery is always slightly off and over the top, although everyone's not that bad at all, really.

I would watch Matt Lucas (the evil Dongalor) read the phone book, and I'm sure he'd make it funny, but there isn't and can't be too much of him as the character is so so out there.

Sean Maguire is certainly nice to look at and so is his female co-star India De Beaufort and they have some fun with their relationship dynamic. As a pagan India's Aneka character gets to do a lot, A LOT, of screwing. Off camera, of course, but she's quite the hottie in her costume, as you can see above right.

And Sean? Almost big enough arms for the role. I know it's not his stock and trade usually, but some dumbbell curls before scenes makes your arms look bigger, dude. The armband thing works just so much before you have to help it along with some blood flowing to those biceps and triceps.

The rest of the cast is just okay. Sorry Kevin Hart.

I agree with Rob, one season (or series, if you will) and the show will be gone. It's just not a premise that can stick and the style is certainly something with which your brain can reach maximum density very quickly.

Torchwood Magazine Exclusive: Barrowman on Secrets Revealed

I just got this in from Ricky at Torchwood Magazine, which btw you can find at your better bookstores and much better newsstands (like my better newsstand locally at South Coast Plaza) and some comic book stores, but unfortunately not MY comic book store.

(Not that I own it, I just go there to look at action figures. And place the ones outside the blister packs in compromising positions to the delight of the salespeople there.)

John Barrowman tells them in the issue out now:

The new Torchwood story drags up a lot of people's secrets, and we all like to see that, don't we? It's the kind of story that, once you start watching it, you will be hooked. Even if you've never seen Torchwood before, you're going to fall for these characters, and you're going to go with them on an amazing journey that will be the biggest rollercoaster ride of their lives.

We've already heard from John and his and Ianto's relationship is key to the plot in this five-part miniseries event.

Barrowman really is great at selling his projects, not that I don't enjoy the Torchwood because as you know I do.

But reading, watching and listening to him promote his shows you realize that he would have made a great ad copywriter or publicist. Of course he would have wasted all that scorching hotness that the camera just eats up.

You can subscribe to Torchwood Magazine at this link and buy the Torchwood Annual from Titan Magazines through an Amazon link that I'm posting below. Thanks again for the support, I might be able to buy half a season of one of my fave shows on DVD by, say, 2019, so that's always appreciated.

Finally, because I never did include it in a post (it resides in my right hand column for a while) here's the BBC trailer for Torchwood: Children of Earth, this summer (July?) across the networks of the BBC all over the world.

And, for those of you who need a little Eve Myles fix, check her out on Masterpiece Classic on PBS in Little Dorrit. In fact, you can do that online at the new PBS Video website, at this link. You can watch that, Frontline, Nova, Lehrer ... all their great content, on your schedule.

And because I get mail when I don't mention Gareth David-Lloyd (his website at this link), I'll include him as I say all our Torchwood leads have been spotted in Cardiff recently. Good chance they'll all be around when Doctor #10 regenerates into a kid that needs a good haircut.

Video -- NBC Today Show Investigates Car Warranty Pest US Fidelis

Above, that's Brendan Gaughan NASCAR car. I wonder if NASCAR fans know that the same car they might be rooting for is doing business with this very very questionable operator the business world.

(Remember how the FCC's Bush-era appointee Kevin Martin decided that the DTV transition needed to be advertised with sponsoring a car and then the program ran out of money, partly because the car kept crashing and they had to keep repainting cars? What is it with questionable operators and NASCAR? Doesn't NASCAR check out the cred of companies or individual actors with whom they do business?)

I dunno about you but I was getting calls twice, sometimes three times a day from this company. And mail, and they were all over the web.

They are not in any way connected to the auto makers whose cars they allege to provide warranty service for and you need to know that and act accordingly.

The company's run by a convicted felon, which always just gives you a big hug of joy, huh?

Here's this morning's Today show report on it. Is it surprising that their mega complex looks like an Iron Cross from the sky?

2 Clips -- Jim Parsons First Appearance With Letterman, Big Bang's Press Attack Continues

Yesterday Kaley Cuoco and Kunal Nayyar were on Bonnie Hunt and I'm also looking around the web for a clip from that appearance, because ... they brought their dogs, and you know I have a soft spot for those segments.

(Still looking for that, btw, will update the post when I find it.)

Jim Parsons with Dave last night was a riot. Parsons himself is some of the best parts of Sheldon without all the angst and the phobias and the persnicketiness (add it to the dictionary if it's not there).

He's really quite the charming guy.

Clip after the jump, but first I thought we'd take a little trip over to Chuck Lorre's site this morning so I could once again revel in his vanity card essay. You know, the thing he writes every week that runs on his vanity card at the end of the show.

I noticed by reading the fine print at his site that some of these essays run first on Two And A Half Men and then they repeat on Big Bang Theory. Chuck? Whatcha doin'? Write new stuff, we need new stuff from you all the time, because it's just too good. I freeze frame my DVR every week to read them.

From the April 13 episode, a reflection on the current economic crisis, Chuck contends that the economy is prone to the effects of Newton's first law of motion, and he ends by saying ...

I therefore assert that the unbalanced force (you know who you are, shame on you), will eventually be overwhelmed by the object in motion (three and a half billion people with pluck, aka pluckers), thus allowing the object in motion to continue its relentless journey forward, thriving and conniving until it is once again slowed down by other unbalanced forces, or a very large meteorite. Or a plague. Or fundamentalists with nukes. Or atmosphere-eating nanobots. Or a super volcano. Or Skynet. Or Cylons.

Cylons, yes, but more likely fundamentalists with nukes, or just a status quo that likes things the way they are because they're raking it in and can't let go off that easy free money.

I like Chuck Lorre. Chuck, hope you don't mind that I stole your pool picture from your site, I do link to you every chance I get.

Parsons with Dave after the jump. New episode of The Big Bang Theory this Monday at 8 on CBS. He turns out to be quite the entertainment industry geek. Jim, you should be reading my blog, many like-minded people here.

Best of Sheldon bonus clip for you fans after the jump as well. Thank you, Lana Kim!

Heroes' David Lawrence at NBC.com on His Character Arc & Nowhere Man Webisode Series

Watch it right here.

LINK

More of my interview with David this coming Monday night, with a link to the new chapter of Nowhere Man.

Video -- Movieline Reports Valerie Bertinelli Pilot Project Set Up ... at Lifetime?

Do I still even get that cable channel? I think the last thing I watched on Lifetime was a rerun of Murphy Brown, ages ago.

Why isn't ABC, owner of Lifetime, elevating this project to its flagship network?

There's one sure fire way this hits ... give it Project Runway as a lead-in. C'mon Lifetime, if you do that I'll even watch THAT show, and that's coming from a guy who buys most of his clothes at Costco.

Movieline reports:

The Valerie Bertinelli Project, about a newly divorced mother who must maintain a balance between her family and running her ex-husband’s struggling hardware business.

(I presume that's a working title.)

TheFutonCritic.com has more info -- Dave Caplan, whose credits include The Bill Engvall Show, The Drew Carey Show and George Lopez is on board as Exec Prod.

But why waste all this attention Bertinelli has attracted on a cable sitcom? Sheesh, give her a budget and a great supporting cast. I saw Tom Selleck at the TV Land Awards and he looked great and my first thought was "put these two together" in a rom com for ABC. I think sparks would fly off their interaction.

Do it multi-camera with some great gagsters in the writers room under the watchful eye of the multi-Emmy and WGA nominated Alexa Junge to supervise the story arcs (and not just because she answers my email but she has a great feel for this kind of thing) and once again as I said before, get John Putch to direct his old One Day pal Val.

Not that I have anything against Caplan. Dave, I'm sure you're a very nice man. Nothin' personal.

It's just that Alexa wrote and was nominated for The One Where Everybody Finds Out, and to this day I take out the DVD at least three or four times a year and watch it, my second favorite Friends episode of all time.

(Next to The One With the Embryos, because the trivia quiz just slays me and then Phoebe's speech to her potential uterine inhabitants is just the sweetest.)

I keep my eye trained on the Bertinelli career arc, as you well know, and I'll be back with updates.

Even if I am a bit disappointed, if only because this isn't MY idea (EGO!), congrats to Val and all involved.

Great clips from Alexa's Emmy-nominated Friends episode in a clip after the jump.

Phoebe: (to Rachel) They don't know that we know that they know we know. (To Joey) Joey, you can't tell them!

Joey: Not even if I wanted to.

Classic!

UPDATED With Results: Idol Results Show in Less Than 90 Minutes, Who's the Bottom Two?

How many times is Randy gonna say, "You can really sing!" Isn't that the point of the top six?

Well ...

Allison Iraheta -- Not too Hot Stuff, honey. Song didn't show her range. And Donna Summer won a Grammy for the vocal, it's hard to get it outta your head. Also, it was a big big hit during my disco days. It just didn't work for me.

Anoop Desai -- Yeah, Dim All The Lights needs to be a faster tempo song, it's not the best written song in the world, and his performance was uninspired.

Results later. Much later for me on the left coast.

UPDATE: Well, I had two of the bottom three, and they let two go tonight, Anoop and Li'l Rounds, who, though I didn't love her rendition of ... can't even remember what she sang ... was okay for me.

I should have remembered the previous years' situations with Trenyce and Tamyra Gray and realized that some of our voters here in the States didn't like them and possibly Rounds for the same reason that they don't seem to support our nation's President.

If you know what I mean.

Yes, it's a singing contest, ostensibly, but you can never underestimate the prejudices of some of the American people.

I said SOME! Not all.

Go Lambert! Starting this weekend, the Campaign to Elect Adam Lambert goes into high gear.

Or as soon as I can get the page up. It's a one-man shop here and when I get otherwise involved the whole blog gets otherwise involved.