I Am A TV Junkie

Ood Sigma -- "I Think Your Song Must End Soon, Doctor"

I'm starting to get teary already!

Watch this clip and remember that all songs end sooner or later.

Got $4 Million? Celebrate New Year's By Buying Glenn Beck's House

 

Yes, it's for sale, all eight thousand seven hundred twenty square feet of it, on the block for a cool four mil. Anyone biting?

Check out the exclusive New Caanan, CT listing at this link from Realtor.com.

He's just a regular guy, just like you and me ... but more like Jeff Immelt, the GE Chairman that Beck used to harangue regularly until GE sold NBC-Uni to Comcast. Immelt lives in the same town.

Glenn, though, is just a regular guy, like you and me. Because we all have five full baths and three half baths on 2.8 acres with a view of a lake and a 26' by 18' kitchen.

And six bedrooms including a 22' by 16' master bedroom. And three private schools within three miles.

Just a regular guy. Like you and me.

Ladies & Gentlemen, For the First Time At This Blog, Sir Patrick Stewart (Let's Celebrate With Some Clips)

Well, not in person, obviously ... it's just a computer ... it's not magic.

CNN:

The 69-year-old Yorkshire, England, native tops the list of those receiving New Year's honors from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, the Cabinet Office announced Thursday.

Stewart, well-known for playing Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," will receive a knighthood. It means he will now be known in Britain as "Sir Patrick."

So, here's some clips ...

ITN Story on yesterday's knighthood

Stewart on Extras with Gervais

Contemplating the letter "B" on Sesame Street

On the bridge of the Enterprise singing A ... You're Adorable for Gene Roddenberry on his birthday 

And finally ...

...Patrick speaking out about domestic violence in his own life for Amnesty International

Congratulations, Captain!

Some Misguided Brits Complain About Too Much David Tennant On The Telly

As if there's such a thing, huh? I know!

This is the second time it's popped into my inbox this week so I'm going to address it. Apparently, there are some critics of the BBC (and there are always critics of the BBC, many of them I call people who work at ITV and Channel 4) who are getting their pants in a twist (See what I did there? Pants instead of panties, because this is Britain? Get it?) because your favorite Doctor of all time kept showing up on the TV over the end-of-year holiday period.

(I hear he even got circumcised on BBC Four to celebrate Hanukkah. No, really, it's ... not true.)

Digital Spy:

A Conservative MP has accused BBC executives of promoting David Tennant at the expense of other actors.

Tory politician Nigel Evans made his comments after research showed that Tennant will have made 75 appearances in three weeks on BBC television and radio stations by the end of the festive period.

It is understood that 28 of the Doctor Who star's appearances are in new programmes, while 47 are repeats.

Evans, who sits on the Culture Media and Sport select committee, told The Daily Telegraph: "Relying on such an overkill of one particular person is freezing out a lot of opportunity for a lot of up and coming people.

What a tool! So lemme get this straight, is the BBC now just a viewer funded operation that's duty is to get everyone on TV before they pass? Or is Nigel Evans (representing the Ribble Valley, btw, and I'm sure all of you are really proud of this, huh?) disappointed he didn't get to audition to be the Doctor in series five?

Because from the image above, MP Evans seems to be keenly interested in show business, dontcha think?

Maybe one of the two showgirls on his arms were interested in handling the storytime segment on CBeeBies.

Or, playing Hamlet? I think the showgirl on the right would be quite the fit Hamlet, don't you?

Speaking of Hamlet, watch a couple clips from the BBC production of Tennant's Hamlet at this link and this link. It will air on PBS here in the States later this year.

And, here's David reading to the kids.

This January, Starz Asks, "Do You Like TV Shows About Gladiators?"

As opposed to Captain Oveur (image below left) who asks Joey, "Do you like movies about gladiators?"

Starz, the pay cable channel, wants you to tune in on January 22 at 10 pm eastern and check out Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and ... okay, they've got me, at least for the pilot. Maybe it's just because I AM this kind of kid that liked movies about gladiators, maybe it's because I write this blog about TV and feel like I should give everything a chance ... and then maybe it's because I could swear in this trailer for the series (LINK), at about the 1:19 mark, there are two hot sweaty guys doing each other for maybe a half a second.

Oh, and for you women who like your women in Grecian gowns and hair all piled up on their heads, there's some Lucy Lawless action here, too (her hubby Rob Tapert is one of the producers), and from a short bit of that same trailer, it looks like there might be some girl-on-girl going on as well.

And of course, I might be horribly wrong on both fronts.

Whatev, there's muscular half-naked guys engaged in combat with each other. There's lots of sweat and I'm sure oiled-up bodies and ... and there might even be a script with dialogue that people will recite toward each other.

Or, you could just watch the thing with the sound off and look at Spartacus, an Australian actor/model named Andy Whitfield (top of post and above right).

The only actors you recognize may be Lawless and Brit John Hannah (Alias, the Mummy movies) but that should let it stop you from recording at least one to try out, right?

If you need another reason, how about Peter Mensah (Terminator: TSSC, Avatar, 300) or New Zealand native Manu Bennett (above left) ... let's just say there's plenty of beef on display.

And, of course, the chance that it might be a decent show is just gravy. I figure it's gotta be better than Crash, the other Starz hour drama. 

In any case I have one more clip for you (LINK) and I suggest someone call Capt. Oveur and remind him the show premieres on Jan. 22 at 10 on Starz.

No, not Logo.

Not Here! TV.

Starz.

Two Clips -- Graham Norton's New Year's Show: Sarah Jessica Parker, Joan Rivers, Jedward

 

Also, promoting the BBC run of HBO's The Wire, Dominic West joins them on the couch. Mmmmm, that's some tasty stuff there, huh?

And a preview clip too, Joe? Yes kids, a preview clip, too.

Watch it at this link.

Note for US readers, we'll see this episode eight days later, I think.

Check your cable grid for more specific info. And, here's a bonus clip of Graham with Joan reviewing the year that was 2009 at this link.

A very gay New Year indeed for Graham on BBC One. I'll be watching, as usual.

Someone's Gotta Ask (so I'll be the brave one) -- Is Fox's 'Til Death a Front For a Drug Running Operation?

I mean, it's been on for four years, it keeps getting renewed, no one watches the damn thing and they seem to have a revolving door of co-stars which would be just the thing I would do if I needed a steady flow of mules actors to inconspicuously get contraband from here to there.

What am I supposed to think? It's like that store in the old, no longer popular strip mall near your veterinarian's office that only sells ceramic angels. You drive by every now and then and you spy their storefront out of the corner of your eye and you think to yourself, "How do they continue to pay rent. No one ever goes in, no one comes out and they only sell ceramic angels ... wtf?"

And you think to yourself that it's either a front for some sort of illegal drugs business or Willy Wonka found a new but decidedly down-market place for himself and the Oompa-Loompas.

The only thing I haven't figured out? Why a Fox sitcom? Why not a indie oil change/lube operation or a mall kiosk or the last video store left in your neighborhood or even the mobile pet groomer? Seems like any of those ideas would be more accessible and/or portable.

It would also make sense if the show was selling weed to it's own audience, at least someone might enjoy the show.

Christmas Night ratings analysis by TVByTheNumbers.com:

Four episodes of ‘Til Death on FOX was the only original programming of the night (according to my program guide, The Jay Leno Show was a repeat) and still hardly anyone watched it.  In the press releases you will never see department you can add “‘Til Death Steadily climbs in last hour,” even though it is true.

What else is the viewing public to think? There has to be some reason why this show, like a bad penny, keeps coming back.

Maybe Brad Garrett has some pictures of Rupert Murdoch wrestling in Jell-O with Glenn Beck?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Remember when the Brad Garrett/Robert Barone Everybody Loves Raymond spinoff was all the hot talk at CBS and it was close to happening and then it didn't?

That was only four years ago. Time flies, huh?

The End of Tyra? (I Hear Joel McHale Somewhere Screaming, "Nooooooooo!")

Damnit! Now where will heads of state go to discuss important matters of public policy while simultaneously getting a colonic? 

Tyra.com has her letter to her fans, which includes ...

There's a lot cooking right now and a lot of fire burning in my heart, and for years, I've been working on the next big ideas and new ways to reach out to you. Besides continuing full speed with America's Next Top Model (which starts it's 15th season), True Beauty (which is in its second season), and Tyra.com, this year I'll be unveiling some HUGE surprises from me and my company Bankable - new out-of-the-box projects.  And I'm incredibly excited to announce that I'll be launching Bankable Studios soon, which means my company will be making MOVIES!!!  And what I love about creating new projects is that it also creates new jobs for talented people, in front of and behind the camera.

And if you've been reading the papers, you know that the television world is changing! And there's this little thing called the DIGITAL EXPLOSION that's flipping how the old companies are doing business and how people like me can talk and vibe with you.  So a few months into the new year, you'll be seeing a whole new digital Tyra.com world.

The caps are hers, btw. If it's a little thing why is digital explosion all in caps? Will we be forced talk and vibe with Tyra? Does it involve getting chips installed in our brains? Chips that get installed during our televised colonics?

More after the jump.

Emmy Winning Tracey Ullman Returns to Showtime Jan. 25 (and so do Arianna, Chanel, Ruth Madoff and Rachel Maddow)

Okay, I already don't like this post. I don't like it because I just realized that Arianna Huffington is identifiable by only her first name. Not that I don't like HuffPo or still hold a grudge that she tried to launch a closeted gay Republican (the very worst kind of Republican) into the CA governor's office, I guess I'm just tired of her omnipresence.

 Apparently Tracey Ullman feels similarly, you'll see Arianna in the season opener of Tracey Ullman's State Of The Union on January 25 at 10:30, right after the third series premiere of Secret Diary Of A Call Girl on Showtime.

You can see a taste of Tracey's Arianna by clicking this link but it won't be til the premiere that you catch in one sketch Tracey playing the blogger/pundit in the makeup chair at The Rachel Maddow Show, the show's glam-averse host, Meghan McCain and Barney Frank.

Then Christiane Amanpour shows up in the wrong studio and it's all Rachel can do to stay inside her own skin.

Best Rachel Maddow impression I have seen yet, but then Tracey seems to manage to find ways to actually change her face to pull this off. And she must be awfully good at it because she's been doing this for years now and it still feels fresh with each new character. It's not even just makeup that makes it happen, there's a concerted effort on every level down to the way she holds her face that turns her into other people.

Those other people include a constant phoner/texter/Tweeter who becomes an unwitting guest on an Intervention-type series, Penelope Cruz at a junket for a film that has her starring as Salma Hayek called Dos Chichis Con Leche ... and TSA security screener Chanel, who leads those under her charge in a dance medley tribute to Michael Jackson.

Besides SNL and the odd sketch on one of the late night shows there's not much of it happening on US television. Of course back in the UK where Tracey's from (though she's  been living in Calfornia now for years) there's always a hot sketch show on the air (and a few that aren't so hot, like the Corden and Horne series from this past year on BBC Three) .

Wish we had more of them, not that they'd all be of this quality. Tracey and partner/husband Allan McKeown have been doing this kind of thing for years and the loss of Gail Parent this season should be filled nicely by Bruce Wagner, who you might know from his screenplays including the upcoming Map To The Stars but also his print work in mags like Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Details and The New York Times magazine.

And in the first two episodes of this season you'll also see from Tracey's old Fox series Sam McMurray and Joseph Malone.

Good stuff, very sharp political humor, biting commentary on life and how we're doing with it, you would be foolish not to check it out.

And you can right now. Click this link and watch the season two premiere that's posted on the Showtime website.

More as we get closer to the Jan. 25 premiere, because then hopefully I'll have clips.

Doctor Who -- It's The End Of Time But It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It

I just knew this was going to happen. It's like the boy that cried Bad Wolf, dontcha think?

We've had a Parting of the Ways, it's been Doomsday, we've seen The Last of The Time Lords and traveled to Journey's End.

And now it's The End of Time.

So you'll excuse me if I'm hesitant to believe it's really gonna end.

Time, that is.

In fact I know it won't end, because we're getting a new Doctor and new companion this coming year, hopefully beginning in April or May, and he's younger with floppier hair and has another pretty li'l thing running after him making the odd stirring revelation.

(Because you don't screw around with a winning format.)

Okay, I didn't love part one of the two-part The End of Time and I'm hopeful that part two will redeem the pair. Still, it was better TV than most of the genre shows on American television can muster these days (like Dollhouse, for example, which I've been catching up with lately or FlashForward, which is on the cusp of revealing itself to be a sham -- sorry, David Goyer).

My big problem with the episode seen here in the States last night (just a day after the UK premiere, which in itself is a TV milestone; thank you Garth Ancier, outgoing chairman of BBC Worldwide) and all of these specials aired since David Tennant announced his departure from the show at the October 2008 British National Television Awards (LINK) is the lack of a steady companion.

Without that relationship at its core, Doctor Who is simply not the show it is otherwise.

More, including clips (trailer for the second hour) after the jump.

Your Spoiler-Free Doctor Who: The End Of Time Video Preview, by Adolf Hitler

You learn something new every day. Like today, as I've learned Adolf Hitler, even though it's years since his death, has a thing for Doctor Who.

Check out YouTube and you'll see all these clips of Hitler railing against the incoming Matt Smith because either he didn't get the role (LINK, clip by Benjamin Cook who wrote Doctor Who, The Writer's Tale with Russell T. Davies) or he just doesn't approve of Matt (LINK). And, this isn't the first time ... Der Scumbo seems to have been equally peeved when Chris Eccleston left the show (LINK, turn on annotations) ... and when Himmler won an auction to have a lunch date with Elisabeth Sladen (LINK)? Just don't mention Himmler anywhere near the Fuhrer, okay?

And there are even more Hitler rant Doctor Who clips, like ...

• Hitler finds out Rose is trapped in another universe (LINK, turn on annotations again)
• Hitler reviews The Waters of Mars (LINK)
• Hitler loves the Daleks (LINK)
• Hitler fears the Daleks (LINK, annotations)

And, finally, as is true to form for the bastard, Hitler didn't complain at all when Ianto Jones died in the fourth hour of Torchwood: Children of Earth.

All these clips were made before Christmas so there's no way it can spoil your enjoyment of The End of Time. And yes, this is a lot of Hitler for any web post but I figured since we were mocking the guy it would be, uh, okay.

Okay? Good.

Better than a spoiler-ridden post that will piss you off, huh?

Note to "Dex" Re Your "Missing" Jersey Shore Comments Here

Dex, dude, not cool. Not cool at all.

It's one thing to laugh at the characters on a reality TV show, it's another to make derogatory remarks about an entire ethnic group.

Won't be printing those comments you left on this blog about the show or the people on it, not because there wasn't some funny stuff there, because there was. Later on however it got a bit much and I realized what you were trying to do and I decided to get rid of all your comments.

Not cool, Dex, not cool at all. And, btw, I'm one of those "wops" that you mentioned.

Now would be a good time to see if you could get your head out of your ass. Have great time trying and a happy and safe new year.

BBC America Holiday Giveaway Winner!!!

It's Oregon's own Darcy Bishop. Thanks to all the people who entered, the most successful giveaway I've done yet.

And, surprise, I didn't sell your email address to a Nigerian Prince, so that's a bonus, huh?

And thanks to BBC America Shop for making it happen.

Congrats to you, Darcy.

Face Off! MTV Guidos/Guidettes v. New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus

Did anyone even know there was a group called the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus? I have to ask that because I've been going through a Google search of the group's name and every hit so far has to do with this particular story.

I've yet to see any mention of this group of state and local legislators in Jersey without a reference to the show.

Which of course leads me to ask, "Is this group trying to make political hay for itself on the backs of a bunch of 20-somethings on an MTV reality show?"

Because, New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus, it kind of looks exactly like that. And, the claim in the letter you sent to Viacom asking them to cancel the show that equates the show with a hate crime (really?), is a huge stretch.

A state senator from the Seaside Heights area, Joseph Vitale, and Richard Bilotti, the chairman of the New Jersey Italian and Italian American Heritage Commission have publicly stated in this document that "The bias-related acts displayed by employees of MTV Networks in the production and marketing of Jersey Shore by their nature, are confrontational, inflame tensions and promote social hostility. These acts are contrary to the spirit of New Jersey law and jeopardize the active and open pursuit of freedom and opportunity."

(Vickie Hyman at the Newark Star-Ledger has more.)

Oh, and the Star-Ledger intimates that people "like Pauly Delvecchio ... and his out-of-state ilk" are somehow culpable in a conspiratorial way in the caption that accompanies the short item just by virtue of not being Jersey residents.

Poor Pauly, poor Rhode Island, poor Guidos.

If these protesters can prove that before this show started shooting last summer that Seaside Heights had never seen a fist pumping or a hot tub filled with barely legals of both sexes polluting the water with hair product while exchanging saliva, I think they might have a case.

And good luck with that. No, seriously, good luck.

And, btw, hate crime legislation is very specific and very important and to "go there" shows contempt not only for the hate crimes laws that have been so hard to get on the books but the people those laws protect.

So there.

Jersey Shore's The Situation: "Every Time I Lift My Shirt, A Piece of Me Dies"

Oh, just watch the thing, if only for Pauly D's British accent.

Just a Quick Note Re: Secret Diary Of A Call Girl Series Three

Quickly, so that I can get back to the screener (thank you Rommel, Showtime, ITV, all y'all), it really is hotter than ever.

Billie looks great. I love her like gay men in the past have fallen for Marilyn, Bette, Cher ... okay, not as MUCH as Cher, but the love's there still.

Series three starts with the release party for Hannah/Belle's new memoir and guess who shows up incognito to see how it goes?

Ben's back, picking up on book publicists and throwing them rather haphazardly onto beds where he just might be having a little trouble, uh, performing.

Then, meetings for Hannah with editor, played by James D'Arcy (HBO/BBC's Into The Storm, Fox's Virtuality) and more, ahem, research for the followup tome with only three months to turn in a first draft.

No doubt you read (possibly here) that British scientist Brooke Magnanti has now come forward as the real life author of said volume. ITV plans for a hourlong program featuring Billie Piper speaking with Ms. Magnanti about her three lives as a call girl and university student and now respected scientist.

Hopefully we'll get to see that here, too. I'll check with my Showtime source and let you know.

No clips yet, but I'm on it, trust me.

The show returns on January 25th at 10 on Showtime in the US, and looks to be coming back around the same date on ITV in the UK.

Video -- A Really Big, Enormous, Huge, Mondo Chuck Spoiler

Here it is ... look at the image above and then watch this clip (LINK) and then read this Wikipedia entry and you're done with this post.

Big, Big, BIG spoiler. I know, I'm not usually big on that, but this is BIG!

(BTW, Yvonne Strahovski speaks some Polish, not some Czech.)

And the more people who watch the season premiere, the better for me. Why? Because that's the true reason I write the damn blog, to find a way to make you watch my favorite shows so they don't go away.

Two-hour season premiere January 10th at 9 on NBC. NBC, it's a broadcast television network you might have heard of that keeps giving Jeff Zucker more money and responsibility even though he's destr0yed the damn thing.

How is NBC like that girl in your apartment building with the abusive boyfriend? They both spend too much time listening to idle promises and they give bad men multiple chances to ruin them.

The Office's Mindy Kaling In the NY Times -- Playing Christmas Pretend With Random People

From the Sunday Styles section this past Sunday, my favorite naughty minx Mindy Kaling reveals this thing we both do around the holidays.

I do it too, playing off a random comment from someone at, say, the grocery line that gives us the opportunity to do some "I'm a grown-up with my own family" role playing and imagine what might be like if I was on my way to shopping for a Christmas turducken at a specialty butcher shop because it's our family's tradition and then trying to get that new bike for little Johnny and the black and white psychiatrist-designed mobile to hang over baby Sparkle's bed to ensure her entry to Princeton because my wife Rhonda has already given up her traditions (what, they never kept kosher or even went to Temple, ever!) and "I can at least have a daughter in the Ivy League!!!"

Especially around the holidays, it seems, if you don't have kids and a spouse in tow you aren't a real adult, you once again become a junior member of your original nuclear familly, even if you are the one who does the shopping (for them) and you're lifting more on your end than your Dad is on the other side and you're pretty sure that he might forget Christmas altogether if you weren't sitting there trying to watch Carrie Underwood sing Oh Holy Night on her holiday special (reairing tonight at 8 on Fox or watch it right here right now at this link, US only) instead of another episode of NCIS.

And if you're single, just forget about thinking your seat at the adult table is safe. Sure it probably is, but don't you have just a bit of panic when you show up at some family holiday event and realize there's a kiddie table set up?

Right?

So it's fun to play adult with the random person during the holiday season, even as I approach a very noteworthy age.

Often I invent children on the spot, a demanding wife with a heart of gold, in-laws (she's lovely, he's a bit overbearing) ...

... Mindy, I totally feel you. Merry Christmas to you and "yours."

Video -- NGTV's Carrie Keagan With Avatar's Creator & Stars; Cameron, Worthington, Saldana, Lang

One note on Pandora from Avatar creator James Cameron, "Your balls are always blue in Pandora."

From what I've heard, he's apparently right.

And watch this clip (it's below, you have no reason not to, you don't even have to click over a jump) to hear Sam Worthington try and speak Na'vi. It doesn't go maybe as he planned but it turns out really well for the No Good Television crew, it's right up their alley.

No, no, no ... don't make ... up your alley joke ...

Oh, it's so hard not to! Hehehe I said it was hard.

I have absolutely no self-control.

Funny or Die Video -- Alyssa Milano, From Zero to Jersey in 75 Seconds

I have nothing to say except to tell you to watch this.

TV.com's Hits and Misses on Best New Characters of 2009

Tim's new friends for the year are a bit different than mine, but valid, still. Here's his list:

Mitchell, Modern Family (ABC) -- I prefer Cameron, he's the first out gay athlete character that's a regular on a series (University of Illinois, a division one team), that certainly ranks.

Damon Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries (CWTV) -- Ian Somerhalder is plenty good looking, I just can't watch this show because teenage vampires and all that are lame. LAME! That's right, Twilight fans, I said it.

Sus Sylvester, Glee (Fox) -- I just wrote a bunch about Sue at this link, go read that.

Arthur Mitchell, Dexter (Showtime) -- Very well-drawn character made even better by John Lithgow returning to his roots by playing a really really bad guy. Still haven't watched the finale, not gonna say anything else just in case I'm not alone in my backlog.

Steve Newlin, True Blood (HBO) -- Really? Steve? Because there aren't other blowhard pastors all over TV? Surette, you got this one wrong.

Lucifer, Supernatural (The CW) -- Never have I seen more than two minutes of this show. Next?

Saul Goodman, Breaking Bad (AMC) -- Stopped watching the show a while back, not that it's bad or anything (in fact it's very very well done) but I just can't bear to watch people take so much risk. Love Odenkirk, though.

Tanya, Hung (HBO) -- Tanya, Ray's ... not pimp but ... mec, is not a very easy character, she can get on your nerves and then bring it all back around and make you love her, but that's the joy of the complications of Tanya.

Abed, Community (NBC) -- I love Abed, he's a little too much like me (all those pop culture references) for my taste, but I like him still. Gotta throw a little self-loathing into this post somewhere, right?

Richard Castle, Castle (ABC) -- I love Rick Castle, I'm not enough like him (dashing, roguishly handsome, can write an entire volume of prose).

Video -- Because I Never Miss A Vincent Price Christmas Special ...

... it's a good thing that SNL keeps making them.

(BTW, that's James Franco above saying very quietly, "Don't tell anyone I'm on General Hospital, apparently everyone thinks I lost a bet." Really, James?)

Best SNL Katharine Hepburn since Martin Short did her cousin the hot dog vendor. Franco as Dean is a natural, and Valley Stream Central High School's own Fred Armisen rounds out the crew as Liberace.

And because I'm not home on my Apture plug-in enabled computer you're going to have to click over the jump to watch it, which also gives this post enough text to possibly post this other image of Kristen Wiig as Hepburn.

Done.

Great Minds Think Alike --The Soup's McHale Asks About GH's James Franco, "Did You Lose a Bet?"

Didja see it? Didja? Huh?

Well, you'll have to catch it when it reairs late tonight or tomorrow because it's not posted at E! or YouTube.

What did I say in a headline on 11/30? Was it "James Franco on General Hospital -- What ... Did He Lose A Bet or Something?"

Yes, it was.

You can read the whole post at this link.

Great, now I'm absolutely sure I'm a trained journalist that's only good enough to write one liners for a basic cable clip show.

Damn!

Great Julie Benz appearance, though. Best ruining of the end of a season of a series I was looking forward to watching on my DVR in ages! Very funny.

That clip, after the jump.

It was just great minds thinking alike, right? Because a writer at The Soup wouldn't read a joke off a reasonably popular blog and decide to pitch it in his or her writers' room. Right?

Nah, I just wrong that paragraph so that I could fit a pic of Julie Benz into the bottom of this post.

Oh, Julie Benz needs a job, y'all. Anyone got anything for her?

Is Glee's Sue Sylvester Ryan Murphy's Analogue For The Republican Party?

On my way through Southern Orange County today I was listening to Randi Rhodes on KTLK AM 1150 Progressive Talk, a station I can just hardly get in my new neighborhood in North San Diego County and she was talking about how last night in the middle of the night the Republicans in the Senate decided to attempt to filibuster the military spending bill so they could bring the legislative body to a standstill and thus hold up the health care bill.

(Yes, I have problems with that bill as it reads currently, a lot of problems, but that's neither here nor there for this discussion.)

Washington Post:

Part of that effort played out on the $626 billion spending bill for the Defense Department. If the filibuster on the defense bill succeeded, Democrats would have to scramble to find a way to fund the military operations because a stopgap funding measure expires at midnight Friday. Such an effort might have distracted from the health-care legislation for a day or two, disrupting the very tight time line on health care.

"I don't want health care," Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) said in explaining his support of a filibuster. He is a member of the Appropriations Committee, which crafted the Pentagon funding bill.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Christopher "Kit" Bond (Mo.) admitted they support the spending bill but acknowledged they were considering opposing it because of the health-care debate.

Democrats were furious. They believed they had a deal with Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.), the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, to support the bill, but by Thursday night Cochran was saying he was unsure how he would vote.

Cochran, even after getting all his earmarks, still voted against the appropriations bill, without which our soldiers literally wouldn't have gotten their next paychecks. Def. Sec'y Gates had to spank them in letter form entered into the public record it was so evil.

McCain tried to say it was the earmarks that he opposed. $44 million of those earmarks were expressly for Cochran's congressional district.

Republicans -- using your fighting men and women as pawns in their twisted desire to prevent you from getting affordable health care and to save all those campaign contributions they get from the insurance companies and Big Pharma.

Right Joe Lieberman (above left)? Douche.

Anyhow I started to think about Republicans and how what they do is obstruct and prevent and block discussion and an accurate dispersal of the facts and ignore science and invoke conspiracy theories as valid debate points.

I flashed on a face, the face here to the left, Glee's Sue Sylvester. How she is driven to make sure Mr. Shue fails and Glee Club dies so she can get the budget dollars back to her Cheerios cheer squad, which already gets so much cash in alumni donations it doesn't even matter.

And I thought about how Sue opposes anything that has to do with Glee, leaks their set list for Sectionals to the opposition, forces Figgins (above right) to follow every technicality when supervising Shue's kids but look the other way when Sue's cheer squad accepts free swag and even sold their Cedar Point tix on eBay and kept the cash!

She's consistently breaking the rules while breaking Glee's ass over a stack of mattresses of marginal quality that they didn't even ask for or technically accept ... she battles reasoned debate with name calling and vitriol, gets in Shue's face, uses intimidation and fear to control Figgins.

She's the Republican Party.

I knew I really hated Sue for a reason. Usually when someone I love as much as Jane Lynch plays a baddie I can find a way to like the character a bit. I can't with Sue, I just can't stand Sue Sylvester.

And now I know why.

Honestly, there was one moment so far in the series that I've liked Sue, and of course it's when she visits her developmentally disabled big sister Jane who lives in a care facility.

I found a different analogue there. Regarding the question of gay people coming out, the argument's always been (and I agree) that coming out is critical to mass acceptance because when straight people once biased against gay people in their own lives who get to know them most often find those biases fall away.

Sue accepted Becky Jackson onto the squad because she loves her sister with Down's Syndrome.

Dick Cheney doesn't take an ultra-conservative stand on same-sex marriage because he loves his daughter Mary and his granddaughter who has two mommies (just like Heather).

If you're out at work and you're a good person and a productive team player, the people you work with will consider the positive interaction with the gay person at work when considering supporting legislation like equal marriage rights for all.

And like that.

That Ryan Murphy, bringing us song AND a subtext. Thank you, Ryan. Looking forward to Idina's first episode, soon.

Jersey Shore's Ronnie: "We Smushed"

Got my Jersey Shore on tonight. They smushed.

Smushed? I mean, they do know there's more involved than smushing their naughty parts together, right?

(Am I too old to pull off the sentence, "Got my Jersey Shore on"? Be honest, now.

Image above is the only image of Ronnie and Sammi from the episode on the MTV website. I guess all that time Ronnie spent walking around in a towel really cut down on the still photo opportunities, not that I minded.

Well, WTF, there's always the still function on the DVR, huh?

(BTW, see those striations in Ronnie's lower back, that Christmas tree configuration? Nice work, Ronnie, and appropriate for the season. Merry Christmas to you too.)

You see, reality TV is all about checking out the hotties. That's why their there. And straight guys on reality TV? Like I've said earlier in a post about the last cycle of The Bachelorette, if you're gonna be on TV you gotta put up with some objectification, even from gay men.

That's why you're on, kinda, to get us to watch. So wear a towel or make sure you're not wearing a shirt, ever, or even let the towel slip once or twice. Sure, a basic cable network will pixelate out the good parts but we have good visual memory and we can fill in the distorted pixels.

In fact, we'll, uh ... be generous with our visual memory, if you know what I mean.

And thanks. In this economy some of us just can't afford new porn and the we've already watched the stuff we have, albeit 15 minutes at a time.

Don't Forget to Enter The BBC America Shop Holday Giveaway!

 

Click this link and read the entry rules and then enter. C'mon, it's over $200 worth of BBC America Shop's best including Blackadder Remastered and Torchwood Children of Earth.

And a Doctor Who T-Shirt and The Next Doctor on DVD.

And Planet Earth, the award-winning BBC documentary series from Sir David Attenborough.

And Ben Stiller's voice featured in Robbie the Reindeer.

Click, go, read, enter ... winner chosen at random on December 23rd.

Watch the trailer for the Torchwood miniseries after the jump.

The BBC America Shop, where you can find the perfect gift for you or someone on your holiday gift list.

Okay Gang, You're On Your Own For a While -- I'm On The Road

 

Not going too far, just up to my old OC stomping grounds to spend some quality time with Janet before she leaves to meet her hubby Jim in Arkansas for the family Christmas celebration.

He drove. I can't imagine driving alone to Arkansas.

In the meantime, there's plenty here to read, and as always, check out everyone on my blogroll here on the site and, of course, there's always TV to watch.

Haven't watched Jersey Shore yet, hopefully Janet will have recorded it and I can watch there. I'll have some blogging time while J is at a party tonight, then I'm pretty much offline all weekend.

Get any shopping done? Me, neither.

Time Warner Cable May Drop ALL Fox Channels -- At Odds Over Carriage Fees

In which case you'll have to watch your favorite Fox shows on Hulu, which comes into my home via ... Time Warner Cable's broadband service, and with many less commercials.

And then that may end because Hulu eventually plans to put up a paywall, and then I'll use "other methods" to see those shows, methods that involve the internet connection I have from ... Time Warner Cable ... so it all comes around again.

And again.

And again.

Reuters has the story from the Fox perspective today that was picked up by their partners at The Hollywood Reporter:

Fox said it has for the past nine months attempted to "negotiate in good faith" with Time Warner Cable, the No. 2 U.S. cable operator, which serves some 14 million customers, and said those talks are ongoing.

But there is a "very likely possibility that Time Warner Cable may choose to no longer carry Fox Broadcasting, Fox Cable and Fox regional sports programming," Fox said.

Time Warner Cable confirmed that the talks are ongoing but said Fox's current demands "are unreasonable and excessive, especially in this economic climate."

"We hope Fox won't punish our customers by taking their programming away while we try to reach an agreement," said spokeswoman Maureen Huff.

(Ms. Huff is the TWC exec I spoke to regarding the BBC America in HD situation back in July before the Torchwood miniseries Children of Earth.)

TWC has opened a website called Roll Over Or Get Tough (www.RollOverOrGetTough.com) that lays out the issues this way:

These days, every dollar counts. And for most families, cable TV provides the best entertainment value for the money.

But some of our contracts with program providers are up at the end of this year – and they’ve demanded as much as 300% more for their shows. Even worse, they’re threatening to pull the plug if we don’t pay their price.

In today’s economy, a 300% price increase is excessive. And withholding popular programming is unfair to America’s families – especially over the upcoming holidays.

Don’t let these TV networks hold your TV hostage. Together, we just might make a difference in what America pays for TV.

They don't mention Fox by name.

More after the jump, important stuff you need to know.

ITV Plans "Jedward" Reality Series

 

Irish twins John and Edward Grimes from this year's edition of Simon Cowell's UK show The X-Factor are getting a reality series on ITV2.

Finally, we'll learn how they were secretly birthed in a lab with the sperm of former Ringling Bros. ringmaster Bello the clown from The Big Apple Circus and the character played by Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary.

Cowell, from this past October:

"We're praying it's not John and Edward, but there is a chance according to reports this week that they might," Cowell said when asked who he thought would win The X Factor this year.

"To be fair to them, we put them in a competition where it's a public vote.

"But I'm not going to lie. If they win it will be a complete and utter disaster.

"I'd probably sulk for about six months and as I've said before, I'd get on a very very fast plane out of here as quick as possible that night."

He added: "The good news is it's a singing competition and they can't really sing so I don't think they're going to win.

"I don't dislike them as people, they're quite nice people. I just don't think they're quite the act we were looking for this year."

Well now they don't have to sing. They do need to live in reality to be reality stars, though. Hopefully they are capable of that, because I've heard them sing (LINK) and it's not ... well, it's not really singing now, is it.

I hate being on the same side of an issue as Cowell. To paraphrase him, it's not that he's not a nice person ... oh, wait, that's exactly what I mean.

BTW, expect a US version of X Factor within three years. And I betcha it goes to NBC. Just a hunch.

UPDATED! Breaking -- Nancy O'Dell Leaving Access Hollywood

UPDATE: People.com reports ...

A source tells PEOPLE O’Dell has been uncomfortable for the past several months with what she sees as the show's more sensational direction. "She has spent a lot of years building respect in the entertainment community and celebrities trust her," says the source. "She's known as the nice and classy girl. She values that."

Hell, it's been so long I heard someone express an ethical thought in the public sphere I almost don't know what to do with it.

If true, good for her.

Billy and Shaun and Maria and Tony can keep shoveling the shit, I guess. Nancy will take her game elsewhere.

I think she's leaving because she caught Billy Bush sniffing around her shoe collection.

Kidding, okay just half kidding. Click this link for details on Billy Bush and that appearance on the crazy menopause lady hour of the Today show.

This kind of unflattering photo of Nancy was glommed off the website of The Insider, the show's rival. Those prime access entertainment shows sure are catty, huh?

Anyhow, Nancy says her last day on the show, a show I thought by now (with all others in the segment) would be irrelevant, is this week, according to THR.com.

Does that mean today? Now?

If that's the case, I'm guessing she's going to a competitor. Often that happens in the situation, they pull you fast and don't let you celebrate your run. I'm guessing her pronouncement that she'll be pursuing new career opportunities means it's not NBC-centric.

She's reportedly still going to host NBC's Rose Parade coverage on New Year's Day. Man, that's one boring parade, I can't figure out why anyone watches that -- dull as pair of kids' scissors.

Can Nancy O'Dell do anything besides read off a prompter? What was her pageant skill again?

She has a degree in Marketing, maybe she's leaving the business? Nah, can't be.

Maybe Comcast just isn't interested in being in the Nancy O'Dell business. Though I have no reason why her and not Billy or Shaun or ... who else works there, anyway?

If I do wanna watch entertainment news on TV, I do it on E!, not Seacrest but The Daily 10.

Wait a Minute, Is This Sarah Palin, or ...

... is it ...

... some one else?

RuPaul's Drag Race returns in February only on Logo. Check out the site now at this link.

Don't miss this season, I'm not gonna.

TV.com on True Blood Stud Werewolf Casting; Joe Manganiello Clips, Photo Gallery ... DAMN!

And he has a social conscience too? See above and also click to the Until There's a Cure website, if for no other reason than the hot guy above wants you to.

True Blood continues to be HBO's (and television in general's) most spankworthy show with the addition of this guy, Joe Mangianello, cast this week as Alcide the werewolf.

It's not JUST spankworthy, but it certainly is spankworthy besides being the highest rated and most engaging and compelling HBO series since The Sopranos.

Whaddaya gonna do now, Taylor Lautner? Huh? You're just a punk kid next to this guy. Dude is hot, and he shaves.

Damn, damn, damn ... Alan Ball and his casting execs have great taste.

TV.com's Richard Lawson gets all snarky about it at this link, including, "That name sort of sounds like a cleaning product, doesn't it? "When you can't get the smell of werewolf pee out of your carpet: Alcide."

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Richard, did you see this pic on the right here from the 'net?

Damn!

I can't be said enough.

He's from the Pittsburgh area, he's currently 32 (December 28th birthday) and you've seen him in everything from the Spiderman movies to ER to How I Met Your Mother as Marshall's old law school buddy to One Tree Hill.

He's straight (but who cares, we're just gonna look at him, at my age he could do better, much better, if he were gay), attended Carnegie-Mellon as a drama major ...

(That photo ... DAMN!)

Oh, and you can read more about him in the interview he did with the site Hunk Du Jour, at this link.

More, including some spoilers (beware) and  a mini-photo gallery, after the jump.

Oh, and here's his demo reel from ReelAccess.com.

Video -- Jersey Shore Jaywalking All-Stars Snookie, The Situation, Pauly D

 

I know all you wanna do is watch the clip, see how friggin' stupid kids can be (and not just Guido kids, anyone who watches Jaywalking knows there's some really stupid kids of all ethnicities out there) and laugh (and you can click here for the clip), but consider this ...

No one in the Jersey Shore demo is gonna watch the Leno show, it's a show for their parents who can retire for the night 90 minutes later now that he's on at 10. No one in the aged slumbertime demo is gonna watch Jersey Shore.  If you were really quiet last night while it aired you could probably hear arthritic necks click as seniors in their jammies just dismisses them out of hand.

And they'd never watch the show or anything on MTV, the commercials are too noisy for them.

So, what was this stunt for? I think it was for clipping out and posting online.

Only.

Well it worked. I posted it. I just don't think this clip going viral (which is what they're hoping) benefits Jay's show.

Hell, I'm almost 50 and I can't watch Jay in prime time. The show hasn't translated well to its new slot; the format changes have actually made the show less watchable.

I can't figure out the motivation besides watching this particular clip online. Apparently NBC struck some kind of deal with these kids so that they'd show up on their late and not-so-late night shows (is Fallon next?) and their late night shows only, I would bet.

Still, NBC paid their appearances fees . I don't think it's a very good return on investment. And, it strikes me that an MTV Networks show should write into their contracts with the kids that all promo gets done at the network level on CBS, even if they're separate companies under the same wider umbrella with competing CEOs Moonves and Daumann.

WTF, you probably aren't still reading this anyway, you're probably already shellshocked into silence by the stupidity of SUNY Ulster's Nicole "Snookie" Polizzi.

Yes, she got into a college, believe it or not. I know, it's a community college, but it's still considered higher education.

Man, these kids can't even do math. They don't know where the U.N. is. Ronald Reagan made a speech, apparently, touting the tearing down of a dam in Denver.

If Sinatra was alive today he would be sending Jilly out the kick some ass today.

Then again, Lionel Ritchie should really switch up his look, this isn't the first time someone's mistaken him for Muammar al-Gaddafi.

Video -- Olbermann's Right, Kill the Healthcare Bill; Link to My Daily Kos Diary Called "Screw You Pelosi"

Not health, not care, not reform. 

Watch it at this link.

Pelosi's office practically hung up on me to boot. The second I said I was a lifelong Democrat her office sent me to voicemail without even telling me that they were doing it.

The California-based Democratic Speaker of the House's office dissed a California Democrat. No one disses me without me hitting back.

Read my Daily Kos diary today at this link, which includes ...

Screw you Nancy Pelosi, I'm not going to support a healthcare bill that ends up being a giveaway to the insurance companies just so you and our ball-less President can say they got a bill passed.

I'm a lifelong Democrat and a 25 year resident of the State of California, and I refuse to be treated in this way by the President I voted for and a purported Democratic leader in the House who can't stand up to Congresspeople from her own party.

It's not just Lieberman, it's not just the insurance companies' astroturfing campaigns, it's the failed Democratic leadership in the House, in the Senate and in the White House that led to this debacle. This bill is now a giveaway to the insurance companies. We will be mandated to buy coverage and if not we'll be fined, labeled lawbreakers.

I have other options to get my healthcare, options that would actually allow me to get my healthcare for free. I never have gone that route, thinking other people needed that safety net more than I do. I'm now going to consider that over giving these insurance companies more of my money.

As Keith says, it's immoral and a betrayal to the people who elected Democrats overwhelmingly to the House and drove President Obama to a seven point victory in '08.

Your President has no balls. Sans Testicles. Lacks cojones.

He's shown himself to be an outright pussy and I'm done.

DONE!

BBC America Shop Offers You The Best Giveaway This Blog Has EVER SEEN!!!

This is unprecedented! I must be coming up in the world because I didn't even ask, the fine people at the BBC America Shop, where you can find the perfect gift for you or someone on your holiday gift list.

And, if you order by tomorrow, and you can shop and do all that right now by clicking THIS LINK, Christmas delivery is ensured.

Also, free shipping on orders over $100.

So, here it goes -- the prize package is huge and it includes ...

• Doctor Who: The Next Doctor  - DVD
• Doctor Who T-Shirt  (pictured right)
• Robbie The Reindeer – DVD (Featuring the voice of Ben Stiller)
• Planet Earth: The Complete Series - DVD
• Blackadder Remastered  – DVD
• Torchwood: Children of Earth  – DVD

Now that rocks, right? Yeah, I know. Do you know what the retail value is of all these items combined? Well, do you? Really, I wanna know because I don't really wanna do the math.

Seriously, it's over $200. Over two hundred smackaroos, Joe? Ska-BANG! You betcha!

Whaddaya have to do? Send and email to ...

Include a valid email address and get it to me by 5 pm pacific time on December 22 with the words "BBC America Holiday Giveaway" in the subject line and I'll pick one name at random who will be the winner. This offer is for US and Canadian audiences only. If you've ever won something here at this blog (even if you haven't gotten said prize yet) you are ineligible.

Oh, and no relatives of mine. I love you like relatives, but I can't play favorites.

This is the Blackadder package (left), it alone retails for$79.98, it's the ultimate edition. "Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) is back as the scourge of the ages in this completely remastered, Ultimate Edition of Blackadder, featuring new, exclusive commentary and interviews! Many great men have played a part in shaping Britain's noble heritage. Others have just ended up on the dungheap. Edmund Blackadder is one of the latter." Written by Oscar winner Richard Curtis and Rose D'or TV festival winner Ben Elton and co-stars Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, who you might just know from ... well, too many TV and movie projects to mention right here. Okay, House and Bones, for my US TV fans.

Also included is the five-part miniseries event Torchwood: Children of Earth starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Kai Owen, Peter Capaldi, Katy Wix, Cush Jumbo and a stellar cast. It was part of the Chicago Tribune's Mo Ryan's top 10 of the year of which she said, "managed to create a tremendous level of suspense while asking pointed questions about power, secrets and the sacrifices people are willing to make to enforce the status quo." 

I loved it. I own it! I bought it, you get it free.

I bought Planet Earth (another package retailing at almost $80) as a Christmas gift last year. "You’ll be filled with awe and amazement every time you watch this stunning BBC series about our planet’s best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures, captured on breathtaking, high-definition film in the Earth’s most extreme habitats. Shot entirely in high-definition film, with revolutionary new aerial photography. From the team behind Blue Planet, including the esteemed and beloved Sir David Attenborough."

Finally, Robbie the Reindeer, perfect for holiday cheer for all ages. "Follow Robbie through a pair of hilarious and hip animated adventures in this multi-award-winning animation that the whole family will love." 

Follow the entry instructions above, and we'll pick a winner on December 22.

Can you tell how excited I am to be bringing this to you? I'm kvelling ... which may not be appropriate for Christmas but is so relevant right now during Hannukah.

Get those emails flying in.

And Happy Holidays from I Am A TV Junkie and BBCAmericaShop.com!

Clips and Full Episodes Right Here -- Year End TV Top Tens From Nielsen via TV.com, AFI, Critics, But Not Me (at least not yet)

 

I'll have my Top Ten list right before the new year, but until then I have a bunch of lists from a bunch of sources.

TV.com went with the headline "The Top Ten Shows of 2009 (According to "You")," though Tim Surette's piece means the Top Ten per Nielsen. Certainly not my Top Ten, I hardly watch any of the stuff on the list. Sure, everyone watches Idol (the #1 and #2 choices because of the results show) but I don't tune in until the top six and I certainly don't watch the weeks of humilation that preceed Hollywood week.

Former singers don't like seeing other singers humiliated.

Then there's the American Film Institute, which always comes up with a surprise or two, that surprise this year being the Starz series Party Down, which as I've mentioned before comes back this year with Megan Mullally as Jane Lynch departed for broadcast prime time with Glee, which also makes the list (and she is certainly part of the reason it did, in the case of both shows). Lots of cable shows on the AFI list, natch, including Big Love, True Blood, Nurse Jackie and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and the usual suspects as well, including Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory and newbie Modern Family (despite my early objections I'm watching again and loved, Loved, LOVED, LOVED the Christmas episode, which you can watch right here.

AFI also put together a YouTube vid of their film and TV choices, which you can watch at this link.

Finally, well at least for now, we have Mo Ryan from the Chicago Tribune who goes heavy on the sci-fi, with Battlestar and Dollhouse (watch Eleven Things about Joss Whedon from Hulu at this link), fan fave Chuck (watch the season two Christmas  episode from Hulu by clicking here), and a lot of the rest of the other stuff mentioned above, and you can (and should, like always) read her at this link.

Mo rates on my list because she includes Torchwood: Children of Earth, which will definitely be on my list come ... the time that I get around to putting a list together.

Click away, watch clips, read stuff ... that's why you're here, yes?

Clip Bonanza -- Jersey Shore's Snookie and The Situation Last Night on Conan, Full Ep. 3, After Hours ...

 

Hey, those two girls from Jersey Shore, Snookie Polizzi and Mike The Situation Sorrentino were on Conan last night.

That's right, male version of butterface, I'm talkin' about you. Can't get all mopey and sulky about losing a girl to some other guy without taking some shit from a non-trad older gay Guido born in Brooklyn, dude. You just can't.

You lose Sammi to a bigger, better-looking guy and you gotta move on or else this happens. Wait, everyone hold still, can I hear him saying something like, "Who's this fag calling me out"?

Dude, whatev, you lost Sammi to Ronnie, dude. Your words bounce off me.

Then again, with all those hormones running through your body (and entering through a needle or patch -- allegedly, I said allegedly) I'm not surprised you get moody like that.

And, you almost burned down the Shore house last week. What's up with that, men know how to grill!

And Sammi, you're movin' on anyway tonight, aren't ya? That was fast, babe, gonna get a reputation like JWoww's that way.

Check out the Jersey Shore Nickname Generator at this link. Andy's nickname turns out to be Juicebox. Seems more like an alternative nickname for JWoww.

Mine is J-Muscle. Well, it might have been in the 90s, but I'm older now. Could have been J-Lube in the 90s also (if you don't get that joke I'm not explaining it).

More after the jumperoni including Conan clips, the full episode 3 and episode one of Jersey Shore After Hours, the new wrapup show hosted by Julissa Bermudez.

The Late Late Show, Craig's 1000th Episode -- It's All About Wavy

Big stars, beautiful dancing girls (a blonde, a brunette, a redhead) with a hot guy in leather, music, jokes ... but, it's all about a Crocodili-Alligator who lives in the Los Angeles sewer system.

And, (ominously) dum-dum-dum, he's not the only one.

Watch some of way's monologue by clicking this link.

More on the big 1000th episode spectacular later today. It's one we'll be talking about for ages.

Sneak Peek Video -- Craig Ferguson's 1000th Show Tonight, and Heeeeere's Wavy!

Video & New Chuck Keyart: Ska-BANG! It Returns January 10 on NBC

It's on, gang. The countdown begins today.

Chuck starring Zach Levi returns on January 10 with a two-hour blast of spyriffic twists and turns, the totally amazing hotness that is Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker the CIA agent who brandishes weapons and lingerie with the same fierceness, the menacing and newly promoted Colonel John Casey (Adam Baldwin, who I still want to be My Bodyguard), Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan Awesome McPartlin and a whole slew of newbies from Brandon Routh to Kristin Kreuk to T2's Robert Patrick and more. 

Yes more, like WWE star Stone Cold Steve Austin, Armand Assante as a foreign dictator and -- get this -- Welshman Vinnie Jones, the UK football star featured in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

Chuck content almost every day right here until the season premiere, like this (LINK) the Chuck pilot episode I first saw at Comic-Con with a thousand other screaming fans.

And go to Chuck Me Out, the new game experience from NBC.com and get in on the action yourself.

It's the show we all had a hand in saving, now get your Chuck on 24/7 until Jan. 10.

Ska-BANG!

Video -- Golden Globes Awards TV Noms Announced: Glee, Dexter, Mad Men, 30 Rock, More

The Golden Globes ...

No, not them ... these!

 

Those golden globes above, btw, if you had not guessed, belong to Pamela Anderson, my go-to girl for all things golden and globie.

(Speaking of Globie, very excited about the resurgence of Pee-Wee Herman, but I digress.)

All the nominations at this link from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Watch the announcement of the major nominees at this link from John Krasinski, Diane Kruger and a particularly cheeky Justin Timberlake.

With a year-high four nominations including nods for performers Lea Michele (predicted by me at this link), Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch, freshman Fox series Glee  scored big.

Following with three was a tie between AMC's Mad Men (drama, Jon Hamm, January Jones) , the FX legal thriller Damages (drama, Glenn Close, Rose Byrne), Showtime's Dexter (including nods for star Michael C. Hall and for the outstanding work from John Lithgow this season as the Trinity Killer) and NBC awards magnet 30 Rock (Tina, Alec, Comedy).

More after the jumperoo.

Xmas Gift Video From Syfy -- Watch Caprica Right Here Right Now Before Its January 22 Premiere

It's at this link. Click it, hover over the graphic next to it, either or ... it's your Christmas gift from Syfy.

Ho Ho Ho!

Now, I have just a couple caveats ... this isn't the DVD version (that version has some really racy scenes with both sex and violence that you won't see here or when it airs on the network on January 22nd. It's also not the version that you'll see on air, though I don't know what the differences are they. That info comes from my contact at Syfy.

Still, you have to see it. You must not miss it.

Are you missing a smart, insightful show from Syfy that is deep (really deep) and references the world around us currently including analogies to our political and socio-economic situations?

Are you missing Battlestar?

This, then, is the show you've been waiting for. I know I'm missing BSG. Then again, I own all four seasons and the films and I can watch it whenever I want. And I do.

I have watched the Caprica DVD a bunch of times since purchasing it in April and I'm so ready for more (I was ready for more the second I finished it the first time, actually).

And Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a Joyous Kwanzaa from your friends at Syfy.

Video -- Great Moments in Craigstory: St. Patrick's Day With Jon Stewart

Craig: "It's true, though, I only think of myself as a puppet."

Aha! That's how it all started. Hey, speaking of puppets, you DO know that Wavy is the host of tonight's 1000th episode, right?

Best of Wavy clip at this link.

From March 17, 2005, Craig flew to NYC and spent some time with The Daily Show's Jon Stewart and marveled at the size of his desk.

Jon on the disparity of the size of their TV desks: "Your desk will grow if you rub it."

They kvell over executive producer of The Late Late Show, Peter Lassally, laugh about drunk New Yorkers and more at this link.

Susan Boyle Special Highest Rated in TV Guide Network History, Watch It Now Online

From the TV Guide Network press release:

“I Dreamed A Dream: The Susan Boyle Story,” which premiered exclusively on TV Guide Network on Sunday, December 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, became its #1 rated television special in history, the network announced today. The television special, which delivered a 1.0 coverage rating (788,500 HH) for the 8:00 p.m. telecast, also over-delivered with the network’s key demos. It achieved a triple digit increase (404 percent) with persons 25-54 over the prior year, and the combined 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. telecasts reached 4.1 million households and 4.8 million viewers (p18+). The historic ratings performance indicates positive momentum for TV Guide Network, as it undergoes a major transformation to become the destination for premier entertainment programming.

 

On Sunday, December 13, TV Guide Network invited fans to enjoy an evening of music and laughter with Susan Boyle, the remarkable woman who showed the world that if she can dare to dream, they can too. The show celebrated this extraordinary woman’s journey from a small village in rural Scotland to international fame and fan-fare following her inspiring performance on “Britain’s Got Talent”, the British reality competition series executive produced by Simon Cowell that rocketed Susan Boyle to superstardom. Few could have predicted her record-breaking, global success following her television performance on “Britain's Got Talent,” and Susan Boyle continues to defy preconceptions.

Imagine how this show could have performed on a broadcast network with some real serious promotion. NBC blew it, man, they need stuff like this with a prime time schedule that includes five hours of Leno a week and failing sci fi dramas that cost a ton of bucks.

Now, not only can you watch the replay of the special on TV Guide Network (check this link for airdates and times) but you can see it online, in full, at this link (link takes you to a new window or tab at TVGuide.com, no embed codes).

Video -- Avatar Star The Fabulous Sigourney Weaver on The Daily Show

Sigourney Weaver looks amazing! Absolutely stunning. She is 60 years old this year and she looks no more than 40. And she doesn't look all stretched and filled and frozen by chemicals and doctors.

(That's not to say she hasn't had a little somethin' somethin', but you can't really tell. At all.)

Watch her talk about her new movie, James Cameron's Avatar, at this link.

Learn more about the process Cameron and his staff developed to shoot the film at this link from MakingOf.com after the jump as the clip does not comply with the Apture.com plug-in, they should really fix that at MakingOf.com, someone call Natalie Portman (the site is her baby) and let her know.

Because I know that you all have Natalie's number in your iPhones, right?

Right?

Video -- Great Moments in Craigstory: On His 45th Birthday He's Mistaken For Bob Barker

Craig seen above with Barker and guests from a different episode.

Watch Craig talk about turning 45 and becoming a man of a certain age at this link.

Video -- Great Moments in Craigstory: All Lip Synching, All Dancing Ferguson, Cast, Puppets!

In my opinion, the best musical number in the Craigstory of the show. The puppets, the cast, and Craig in the porniest pornstache ever seen on network television.

Plus, it introduced me to the Duran Duran cover of White Lines (get it at iTunes at this link), the classic Grandmaster Flash hit of my club days.

Ah, my club days ... there are now laws pending or on the books in 17 states that make it a crime for me to dance in public, but Craig has the moves and that great shaking heinie.

Watch it at this link.

Video -- Great Moments In Craigstory: Speaking Out About Britney's Meltdown

Get it? Craigstory?

Craig + History = Craigstory.

One of the definitive Craig Ferguson moments, at this link. Click it or hover over the filmstrip graphic from Apture.com, but watch it no matter what.

And Britney, if you're out there, maybe you celebrate Craig's 1000th episode today by thinking kindly of Craig or maybe you send over some luscious sweet surprise to Television City, the guard at the Artists' Entrance will know what to do with it.

Six Clips! "I Know!" Your Daily Craig -- BBT's Jim Parsons, 1000th Ep Tweet-A-Thon

 

Six clips?

 "I know!"

You must watch them all or Santa Craig won't come down your chimney.

Parsons: "This was a real dump last time I was here."

I love when people who watch Craig Ferguson (do I have to mention weeknights after Dave on CBS?) are on with Craig because they get in on the joke. And of course the last time Jim was on the show one of the VERY FEW lights that grace the stage blew out and Craig had to move over to the guest chair and have Jim move to the almost-never-used second guest chair (last time I think was the Canadian engagement couple).

Watch the interview in two parts right here and right here.

Now, remember tomorrow in Craig's big big big and very exciting 1000th episode, which I'm hoping will include a musical number, many sketches (another one here), maybe the return of Tim Gunn answering Aquaman's email and so many surprises that you can't even count them.

The Craig fan legion of course is planning a 1000th episode Tweet-A-Thon and I offer up any and all of my Craig posts here for tweeting. I don't tweet myself (because I'm just lame, I guess) but everyone is welcome to take stuff I've written and tweet away.

Tweet-A-Thon preview video from YouTube's Malinky2Stoatir which interestingly includes Doctor Who footage of David Tennant (great minds, they DO think alike) by clicking here.

And, I'll also have extra Craig content tomorrow, all kinds of stuff for your tweeting needs.

I think they should just let Craig go all night until The Early Show, but that damn Shamwow ad has to run in an endless loop on some local stations, apparently. I'd rather see Craig read my email all night. Not just my email to him, all my email. Better than having to read it all!

Much love to the fans, the group members and to the LipSynchingScot who does the bulk of the heavy lifting. Cheers to you!

Clip Bonanza -- Fox's Human Target (Jan. 17) Rocks With Action From Start to Finish

I can't wait for you guys and gals to see Human Target when it premieres on Fox January 17th at 8 eastern. The moment it starts it just doesn't stop.

Show will premiere before the season bow of 24 but then move to its regular slot which will be Wednesday at 9 after Idol (a plum time period, Fox must love it as much as I do).

Watch the trailer for it at this link (and remember, clicking doesn't even take you away from this page thanks to Apture.com, my recently added blog plug-in that is too cool for words).

Of course, I saw a screener without commercials, your prime time experience may vary, but you might need that time to catch your breath. Also, if you're reading this there's a good shot you have a DVR so you can just FF through the ads (I mean fast forward, not something sexual).

Now, having said that, I know that there are issues with the fanboy community regarding the show's faithfulness to the comic created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino.

If you can just let that go and enjoy this slightly changed premise and roll with it, I promise you nothing but edge-0f-your-seat pulse-pounding action, great performances not just from steely-blue-eyed lead Mark Valley (hubby of Fringe's Anna Torv and former Fringe, Boston Legal and Keen Eddie star) but also Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies and a long film and TV career, but also his outstanding comic turn in a little-known comedy called Let's Go To Prison) and the joyfully resurgent Oscar nominee (Little Children, also the recent Watchmen film adaptation) Jackie Earle Haley.

And, music by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

More after the jumperoo, gang,  including more pics and clips and ... pilot guest star Tricia Helfer (BSG's Six) bringing all the hotness you can stuff in a business suit.