I Am A TV Junkie

NGTV Talks To the The Social Network's Aaron Sorkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Armie Hammer, Andrew Garfield

And they all have dirty filthy disgusting mouths, too, even Kathie Lee's good close personal friend Hammer (great grandson of Armand Hammer).

Watch them talk to Carrie Keagan (yeah, again with the Carrie Keagan, you gotta problem with that?) after the jump.

Also after the jump I've posted the Myspace live webcast interview with Eisenberg, Garfield and Justin Timberlake done by Olivia Munn, who often these days take time off from her job at Attack of the Show and the person who fills in is ...

... Carrie Keagan. See how it all comes around? See what I did there?

And one more thing, the Justin clip from SNL this week (because ... you know, the whole threes thing).

Clips post jump.

Video -- FunnyOrDie.com Takes on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Thank you, Reno 911's Thomas Lennon (you look hot in leather and a 70s pornstache, you could be in a Joe Gage movie lookin' like that) who brought along his pals Sarah Silverman, Dave Holmes, John Cho and Alex Fernie.

Parody and satire, the only problem with it is we're raising a generation that isn't smart enough to understand either.

Anderson Cooper Officially Coming to Daytime in Fall 2011, Will Continue at CNN

And I have the official announcement from Telepictures/WB after the jump.

Video -- Have No Fear, Carrie Keagan as Power Girl is Here

Never let it be said that I didn't give you every opportunity to fall madly in love with my girlfriend Carrie Keagan.

Two episodes of Power Girl after the jumperoo. In the first, Power Girl thinks she can eat a raw turkey. In the second, she's pretty sure Kevin Bacon is ... made of bacon.

Mmmmm, bacon. Surprisingly Jim Gaffigan is not even IN this sketch.

From G4TV, where geeks get to look at pretty girls with big boobies.

Video -- Greg Giraldo at the Joan Rivers Roast

At the time, I said of Greg's turn at the podium during the Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers ...

First off, Greg Giraldo killed. KILLED. I gotta think he brought "A" material because he knew promos were running for his Comedy Central special airing this weekend were playing during the breaks. I have a clip after the jump of the beginning of his set, but it cuts off right before he directs his focus to the guest of honor.

When he did, he was really really harsh when he started, I was really taken aback, but then he managed to pull it back and get me back on his side before he closed. Joan was brave. Melissa? Braver. Smiles all around, but I was sitting in front of my TV slackjawed. Still, he said some nice things at the end about how amazing it is that she's still relevant at 76.

My favorite Giraldo line was, "Gilbert (Gottfried), you look like you smell like pee."

I've reposted that clip after the jump.

You've no doubt already heard that Greg died today after overdosing on prescription pain meds over the weekend while on the road. He was 44.

From the Comedy Central website:

The Comedy Central family mourns the loss of a true friend of the network as Greg Giraldo passed away on Wednesday. Greg was our go-to comedian for a reason: he was always game, always generous, and always brilliantly funny.

Greg began his career as a lawyer, graduating from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, but his true calling and gift was for comedy. His stand-up was intelligent, yet accessible, incisive, tough and inimitably honest. A seasoned vet on the stage, Greg could bring a room full of disengaged hipsters to belly laughs within seconds of grabbing the mic. He ripped into politics, his personal life and pop culture with a uniquely blunt delivery that was both exciting and startling.

In addition to his numerous Comedy Central specials, tours, records and appearances on programming like "Root of All Evil," "Friday Night Stand-Up" and "Tough Crowd," Greg created and starred in sitcom pilots for NBC and CBS, and was given the opportunity to develop and star in his own ABC sitcom, "Common Law." He was most recently seen as a judge on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and Comedy Central’s Roast of David Hasselhoff.

Greg Giraldo was born and raised in Queens, New York, and was the father to three sons. Our hearts go out to his friends, family and everyone who ever had the pleasure of knowing, working or laughing with him. Greg, we’ll miss you.

Click over there to leave a note or at Greg's Facebook fan page at this link.

Clip after the jump.

Glee -- Watch Last Night's Britney Numbers Here Right Now (and that one from Paramore)

As I post this image from the Fox press site (by Miranda Penn Turin) I wonder how fast someone will photoshop their friends and themselves into it. Send them to me when you do, okay?

All the Britney numbers from last night's show, right here, just for you because I love you all.

Except you, yeah you with the ... I don't even know what that is on your ... oh, that's so wrong, turn off your damn webcam.

(Didn't know I could see you there, did you.)

They're all after the jump via Hulu. Though some of the clip windows use the same thumbnail (the default one) you can be assured all the clips are different.

Glee -- Heather Morris Trending at Twitter

Duh.

I'm all kinds of on the nose these days. I should be ready for a humbling just about ... now.

One more pic I haven't used yet and I'm out.

Her legs look a million miles long in this pic. Damn.

I expect a lot of jumping on the Heather bandwagon by tomorrow. Deserved, yes.

Remember where you heard it first. Tomorrow, after they post the show at Hulu I'll try and put together the musical clips in a post.

UPDATE: Wanna see one of the Britney cameos sprinkled throughout? This is my favorite one. This link.

NPR Audio -- The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons Interviewed by David Bianculli

This is the Jim Parsons interview that you have been wanting to hear, just click here.

You can look at the picture of him while you listen if you like but his mouth won't move, it's radio. No, really, it won't.

Video -- Undercovers: Hot Dish, Hot Show, Hot Spies (and a guy named Hoyt)

Second Hoyt on TV these days, the first being Jessica's True Blood BF. I always considered Hoyt a very WASPy name, probably since I heard Joey Tribbiani describe the Hoyt that would be Monica's husband (the blond with the swimmer's build, remember?) on Friends, but Ben Schwartz does not make for a very WASPy Hoyt (image below right).

But he does provide some of the comic relief on the show as the field agent that is obviously in some sort of man-love with Boris Kodjoe's Steven Bloom character (and who can blame him, damn!), who ironically has a Jewish-sounding name without looking very Jewish at all.

That's the fun of colorblind casting, it works all ways.

Watched the premiere of this last night and it looked great and had a nice pace to it and the leads are very very likeable and gorgeous and it was great seeing Gerald McRaney back on TV.

I might have appreciated the show more if the caper was more complex, but one has to realize that a pilot episode has a lot of explaining to do and subsequent episodes will have less of that going on and more room for complications.

It was some expensive pilot, though. International travel, location cost, Paris ... these things add up, only a titan like Abrams could get NBC to crack open the wallet like this.

The show is solid, the prospects seem decent, but how were the numbers in its debut last week? According to TV By the Numbers those numbers were disappointing, which 8.57 million estimated and a 2.o in the 18-49 demo that I'm soon to leave. That will need to improve (or the foreign sales will have to be big, like Heroes big) if the show will succeed.

Catch up with those who sat for the premiere by clicking here and watching the pilot.

Click here for Hoyt's Field Journal.

Click over the jump for all the previews for tomorrow night's episode from Hulu in a handy widgety thing.

My one note? Caterers, even caterers that used to be spies, in my opinion might just look like they have more than a passing interest in food. These people are way too fit to be working around food all the time.

Morning Hot Links -- IMDb's Birthday, Bristol & Lindsay, Mike Rowe is a Body Waxer ...

... and other hot stuff. The sizzling sausage on the grill indicates it's link time, let's turn 'em over and let 'em brown.

1. Happy 20th Birthday to the Internet Movie Database. The Wrap's Steve Pond talks to Col Needham, founder of the site, about growing pains, the sale to Amazon and Pond's 1990 A&E show starring Graham Nash that doesn't show up on IMDb (LINK)

2. More from The Wrap today ... Dominic Patten writes about the trajectories of Bristol Palin and Lindsay Lohan. "The 19-year old unwed mother should have disappeared into a life of Trivial Pursuit irrelevance and slow news day 'Where Are They Now?' profiles. She was not supposed to be dancing up a storm on one of America's top-rated shows with her mother in the audience cheering. On the other hand, right about now, Lindsay Lohan, one of the most acclaimed actresses of her own and every other generation, was not supposed to have hit rock bottom." Bonus link ... New York Magazine's Vulture blog has all the video on the booing that "coincidentally" (at least that's what Kathie Lee says on Today) started when Sarah Palin made her way into the DWTS studio.

3. Not the dirtiest of jobs but certainly one of the grossest. Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs on Discovery, waxes the chest of his producer Dave Barsky (LINK)

4. I was loitering over at TheWB.com yesterday. Their streaming technology has improved greatly. I can now heartily recommend them as a place to waste your time. They've got lots of what you're looking for including episodes of Friends on demand and ten first season episodes of Fringe for those of you new to the show.

5. It's Britney, Bitch -- Hulu clip where the cast of Glee talks Brit, including Heather Morris who has hijacked my brain apparently as there's something here concerning her almost every day. Yes, Heather, I want you to go to prom with me.I have my powder blue tux waiting for your call.

More of the hottest, most sizzling links tomorrow (if I remember).

More on Sister Wives: Guess Who's Being Investigated for Bigamy?

What's this? Local law enforcement has decided to open an investigation of the "family" starring in TLC's new Sister Wives series?

Newark Star-Ledger:

A polygamist Utah family caught the attention of TV viewers Sunday with the debut of "Sister Wives" on TLC. The show premiered as the first of seven installments following the lives of Kody Brown, his three (soon-to-be four) wives and 13 children.

Unfortunately for the Browns, the show also caught the attention of local Utah police who are investigating the family for bigamy, a third-degree felony offense in the state. Police Lt. Darren Paul said the investigation is ongoing and evidence will be turned over to the County Attorney General's Office for review and possible prosecution.

Now a bunch of us had a discussion under my previous post on this topic. It's my contention that plural marriage is illegal. Others who commented said that because there's only one legal marriage that it's okay if there are other women in the relationship. I say that the plural marriages violate the spirit of the law, thus prosecutable.

I don't really expect a lot to come from this investigation. Utah law enforcement has never made it a priority to go after this, particularly on the local level. I'm wonder aloud here whether they were instructed by someone higher up the chain to initiate some sort of sham investigation to placate those concerned.

I'll set a Google alert and deliver updates as things happen.

Video -- Wanna Cringe? Do Ya? I Got Your Hook Up!!!

Oh, this will kill you.

So Lachlan Murdoch (son of Rupert, Newscorp ruler and Mr. Burns doppelganger) has a wife, Sarah, that's a former supermodel and a host of their version of Top Model in Australia. It was down to Kelsey or Amanda and it was Sarah's job to tell you who the winner was.

There was a 50% chance she's be right, without the answer even being given to her on a card.

She has the card.

She still got it wrong.

On live television.

This post and the clip after the jump brought to you by nepotism, the gift to your relatives that always bites you in the ass.

Excuse the quality. It'll be worth it when your body shudders with embarrassment.

Full Episode Video -- Dexter Season 5 Premiere

Missed it? Still wavering on ordering Showtime? This gives you a couple more days to consider that without missing the premiere, albeit an edited version without the ... you know ... the stuff that makes it pay cable.

Click over the jump and you're there.

R.I.P. The Daily 10 on E! From Catt Sadler's Blog ...

... I offer an excerpt from this parting note:

E News will be moving to an hour and I assure you, that will be must-see tv. Some of us from the Daily 10 will be transitioning over to sprinkle in some of our signature fun into that show… so don’t worry!  As I determine my future and think about what’s best for my two sons and I, do know this: I am grateful to be in your living rooms, or with you on the treadmill, or even with you when you’re flying through the friendly skies. I knew I wouldn’t be changing the world when I decided to make a career in entertainment television, but if I can bring a smile to your face, help you escape what’s ailing you, force a giggle, or inspire you to buy some killer new shoes… If I lift you up, even a little, then I have succeeded.

I used to watch all the showbiz news shows but ET and Access starting being less about entertainment and more about celebrity crises. The Daily 10 had some of that but kept in the mix the stuff that I watched those show for; clips, interviews, reviews and previews. And so as all of them fell by the wayside I kept watching Catt and Sal.

An hour of Seacrest at 7? Is E! sure they don't wanna rethink that?

Hot Links: All YouTube/Hulu Clips Edition -- Glee, Mariah Falls, David Mitchell's Soapbox ...

... and more and more and ... then, no more.

You can have hot links for lunch, right? Just use some mouthwash before you get back to work. Let's get started.

1. Huge music festival in Singapore. Big stars. Including Mariah Carey (who is allegedly in the early stages of pregnancy). Then she slips. Watch it by clicking this link.

2. Another clip from the Britney/Brittany episode of Glee airing Tuesday at 8 ... okay, not that new, but it's not all cut up and edited to death ... meaning you aren't jerked around by bad MTV style cuts in a promo, which never works for me. This link. Includes Stamos.

3. There's a guy on YouTube called KassemG and he kind of does a version of Jaywalking but it's rapid fire and it makes you even sadder about the intelligence level of the populus. This link.

4. This is the final webisode of David Mitchell's Soapbox (LINK). The star of Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look ruminates on this series of clips and promises to be back with more, kind of.

5. NY Gov. David Paterson shows up on SNL. Armisen fearless, Paterson makes his point, then they both wander aimlessly in front of Amy saying goodbye to Jeff Zucker (which for me was the funniest part of the sketch, Zucker gets no respect). This link.

Now brush your teeth. Or something like that.

Video -- Your First Look at "New Look" Drew Carey on NBC's Community

Okay, your actual first look was last Thursday here at this link, but let's not quibble. Plus that was just a still and this is video.

And that clip is after the jump.

Drew, you look great. Probably feel a lot better, too. I remember when I went from 325 to 215 it was like not carrying around a petite woman all the time.

Rob Corddry (from Children's Hospital and my Twitter RTs) also guests. Hey Rob, that Kate Walsh bit last night? Classic. Too quick, but very funny.

Video -- Kathie Lee to Hoda: "Some of My Real Friends Are Here"

As opposed to Hoda and the young woman they have do their Facebook page?

Kathie Lee, you do have a charm about you.

The friends she's talking about? The Lennon Sisters, who are familiar to you if you watched them in their many TV specials in my youth and their appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show.

I just mentioned Lawrence Welk on my blog. Someone send me a new prostate and some ED drugs!

Stat!

Video -- Bill Hader and The Ladies Who Lunch on SNL

As the kids say, this was totes my favorite sketch. A shame though that the kids might not have a frame of historical reference for the character Bill Hader plays in this sketch.

Watch the sketch by clicking this link.

You might have just watched this and figured Hader's Vincent Price character just happened to be in the same restaurant as these fashion victims with their tiny hats and frankly this does sound a lot like his Price. But this character was a standard feature in films about women or films set in  or films like The Newman/Woodward movie A New Kind of Love set in the showbiz or fashion industry (but it could be a florist or a beautician, too) when they wanted to ...

a) indicate that yes indeed this was an industry that those homosexuals worked in, and/or ...

b) wanted a character to say something really catty or nasty without having to have one of the women say said line.

And it would be done just like this sketch does it, with the post World War II version of a fop walking by with a poofy dog, leaning in and letting loose with something girly or snarky. Frankly, it's a comedy winner every time, even with me.

Of course my first thought is to wonder why I'm laughing when this kind of thing usually offends. I think it might have something to do with these kinds of portrayals of gay men being my first exposure to gay man, period. And even after I had met my share (starting with high school English teachers and moving on from there) it was still the only kind of gay man I saw on TV and in movies for a long time, perhaps until I saw Cruising with Pacino, which had some very different depictions of gay men.

As stereotypical and numerous as this gay characterization was when I was younger, for me it is with some dismay that I see it go away. Truth be told most of the time this character nails the laugh.

It's almost as if at the time back in the 50s and 60s when out or fey actors didn't get a lot of work there was some writer on set punching up a scene for a friend he or she had gotten a few days work. Betcha sometimes it was exactly that.

Sorry, UK and international readers, the video is US only.

UPDATE: Unbeknownst to me (though I have been watching their show, still not really getting it and hoping some sort of osmosis thing will happen if I keep watching), Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim did a sketch very similar on their show and they're not too happy. More on that at the Reporter at this link. Watch their sketch by clicking this link. I don't really see the two sketches as being that similar except for that they both feature tiny hats, frankly. Tell me what you think in the comments.

Fall Into New Sunday Shows -- What I'm Watching, Recording, Skipping Altogether

Ah, Sundays with the Griffins, they're my favorite weekend guests. Sure, they bring along a pot-smoking dog, a pedophile neighbor, a diabolical baby and ... Meg.

But they mean well, the baby never does succeed in destroying mankind and the pedophile is so old he can't do any harm.

(Having said that, I don't think a Mr. Herbert prequel is a good idea.)

All about Sunday network TV (with a little wandering into pay cable) ... it's starts right now.

7 pm

Watching -- 60 Minutes (CBS)

Recording -- Bored to Death (HBO East coast HD feed)

Skipping -- Football (NBC), America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC), Reruns on the West coast (Fox)

---

The one, the only, the originator and the industry leader, 60 Minutes returns for its 42nd year on the air. You aren't officially informed about the events of the day if you're not watching, it's as simple as that.

Kicking off the season are reports from Lara Logan on the fighting near the Afghani/Pakistani border, an interview with New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and his wife and a story on the Park 51 community center in NYC, or for those of you who have no tolerance for other religions, the Ground Zero Mosque. Preview the latter feature in a clip by clicking this.

New for the show is it's enhanced web presence. The producers have created a new, original web show that will debut weekly after the network broadcast. 60 Minutes Overtime is (per that website):

60 Minutes Overtime is a web show that begins where the television broadcast ends. Each week, Overtime will air original web videos with new angles on 60 Minutes reports, conversations with correspondents, and revealing moments from our 40-year archive. After 60 Minutes credits roll on Sundays, continue the conversation here on 60MinutesOvertime.com.

And against it on the broadcast networks is nothing major. I will admit that the occasional America's Funniest Home Videos episode does prevent the onset of adult grumpiness, though I usually just catch a rerun on TBS when I have the need to see a nun slip on a banana peel.

There's something on pay cable however, starting it's second season tonight. Last year I caught the first episode of Bored to Death from HBO and didn't come back for the second ep. This past week, though, I caught Craig Ferguson's interview with creator Jonathan Ames (LINK) and I enjoyed him so much that I decided to try again, this time with much more enjoyment.

It's a very quirky show starring Jason Schwartzman as a just-broken-up-with-girlfriend writer named Jonathan Ames who while screwing up the nerve to work on his second novel decides to place an ad on Craigslist offering his services as an unlicensed detective. He also writes for a magazine run by Ted Danson and is constantly recruited by Danson's George Christopher for various hijinks that usually include smoking a joint first.

Zach Galifianakis is Ames' cartoonist friend the indescribably delicious Ray Hueston. He's all kinds of damaged, beaten down by what seems like a horribly strident girlfriend and ... well, you just gotta see him do the role to understand said deliciousness, it's like watching a chocolate addict with a chocolate allergy roll around in a vat of the stuff loving and hating it alternately and getting whiplash from his battling emotions.

Season one recap viewable by clicking this link. If you have HBO on Demand (and you probably do, check your cable VOD options) you have one more day to catch the first five episodes of season one before they disappear. I watch five in the last two days. You're welcome, Jonathan Ames.

8 pm

Watching -- The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show (Fox)

Recording -- Nothing, absolutely nothing (though I've already recorded Mad Men and Rubicon on the AMC East coast HD feed by this hour)

Skipping -- Amazing Race (CBS), Extreme Home Makevover (ABC)

---

Sooner or later we will all be sick and tired of the kids from Glee. It is not yet that time, however. Apparently. Because they'll show up this season on both The Simpsons AND Family Guy ("Simpsons Did It!").

Homer, Marge and the kids return for their 22nd season tonight and while Marge and Homer accompany Krusty the Clown to Geneva to pick up his Nobel Prize -- WHAT?!?!? -- Lisa gets to go to performing arts camp and ... blah blah blah song song song joke joke joke ... I'm not spoiling it for you, you're welcome. Camp counselors include Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords.

Here's a clip from the premiere (LINK).

After The Simpsons stay tuned (or tune out, your call) for Kanye West (okay, but only for you, Cleveland Brown) guesting on the season premiere of The Cleveland Show. Cleveland's task for the episode? Mentor Kanye's returning Kenny character and get his rap career started.

There's also an appearance by the Basketball Player in Chief, though I don't think he voiced his own character. I hope it was someone that does him well, though. Finesse Mitchell (ex-SNL) does a particularly good Obama.

Preview clip here (LINK).

I just have never gotten into watching The Amazing Race, despite my love for travel shows. The competition aspect just ruins the whole thing for me. And Ty Pennington has been transforming homes for needy people for a while, still hasn't made a dent in that needy person demo at all, we just keep making new needy people. That makes me sad.

The rest of the night after the jump, click over for it.

Still Brunchtime On the Left Coast ... Anyone For Some Hot Links?

I know, I know, but it was brunch when I started this post. The day shows up and things happen that knock one off one's sked.

Sure, they're in the package now, but read below as I unwrap all these tasty links and set fire to them (you know, like Wendy Williams cooking a Slim Jim). Grab a plate and a bun, here's the first one ...

1. I very rarely say anything about a film, but this is big deal trade union news outta New Zealand and Los Angeles that might affect at least one person I know (Hollywood Reporter):

Actors guilds including SAG, AFTRA and several international unions have issued an alert against the big-budget adaptation of "The Hobbit," stating that their members "are advised not to accept work on this non-union production." The guilds say the planned MGM/New Line fantasy blockbuster, to be directed by Peter Jackson, have rebuffed efforts by the New Zealand unit of an Australian actors union to organize the picture.

Another setback for the anixously awaited film and btw a film that will more than likely make a buttload of cash. A J.Lo buttload of cash, a Ice T's wife Coco buttload of cash, a Kim Karda ... oh yeah, sorry, got carried away. And how much could it cost them to be compliant to an Australian actor's union contract? Seriously, nickels and dimes, nickels and dimes ...

2. That's lovely love Kristen Bell (her most recent Craig Ferguson appearance was actually a show hijack -- she's also a naughty minx -- watch it by clicking here) tells THR that she would finance a Veronica Mars movie herself if need be. Big mistake, you never invest your own money, honey, but I think you could charm the cash outta the gang at Lionsgate, dontcha think? If I had money I'd give it to you and I don't even wanna sleep with you. Or maybe Summit, they have all that vampires who don't have sex money. Getting people to pay to watch vampires NOT have sex, now there's a scam! Oh, and speaking of Kristen, Geoff Peterson was on the red carpet for the premiere of her new movie this week, check that out by clicking this link.

More, much more, after the jump. There might be cake, you don't wanna miss cake, do you?

Preview Video -- Glee's Brittany/Britney Episode

Two clips for you to consume after the jumperoo.

I know, I'm all about Heather Morris lately. Her body's amazing, huh? It's a shame that the California Legislature passed a bill preventing me from dancing, even alone in my room (they got webcams in there, spies under the bed, the whole shebang), it keeps you in amazing shape.

Fall Into New Friday Shows -- What I'm Watching, Recording, Skipping Altogether

What? The guys at Human Target got girlfriends over the Summer? No, they are new co-stars.

Welcome to Friday, where TV networks put the stuff that they can't find a place for between Sunday and Thursday. It's usually not pretty and it usually changes on a dime, so whatever is said here, just wait five minutes 'cuz it might change.

So, let's take a look.

8 pm

Watching -- Human Target (Fox)

Recording -- Non-network stuff TBA

Skipping -- Secret Millionaire (ABC), Medium (CBS), Smallville (CW), Unscripted stuff (NBC)

---

Yes, those are beefcake images of Tom Welling. Will I watch Smallville? No. But still he's worth looking at.

At the top of the post is the cast of Human Target, which returns with Indira Varma (Rome, Torchwood) and Janet Montgomery (Entourage, Black Swan) added to the cast.

Press release:

The sophomore season begins with Chance rescuing his kidnapped business partner, WINSTON (Chi McBride), and retiring from the protection business to avoid facing the world of danger he seems to bring to those closest to him. But when billionaire philanthropist ILSA PUCCI (Indira Varma), tracks down the reclusive Chance, she convinces him that he is the only one who can protect her from the killers of her late husband. Chance reunites with Winston and their ethically challenged freelance operative, GUERRERO (Jackie Earle Haley), to save Ilsa’s life. While on assignment, the team encounters the chameleon-like AMES (guest star Janet Montgomery), a beautiful thief who can steal anything from anyone, anywhere.

I kinda fell off last year as a viewer, which is a shame because I liked this. Gonna try harder this season.

UPDATE: I had no idea that Human Target and The Good Guys would be repeats this week. Sorry, gang. New episodes start October 1.

The rest? I just can't get excited over a Medium season premiere tonight that sounds like a remake of Freaky Friday. And Welling, if you get in the damn suit I'll watch that, but otherwise I'll just look at the pics on this page and that will suffice.

Finally, reality schmeality. No thanks.

The rest of the night after the jump.

Daily Show Video -- Pledge to America or Same Ol' Same Ol'?

Can you guess?

Jon has the video to prove it, click over the jump.

BTW, do you believe John Boehner when he says he's never used a tanning bed or had a spray tan? C'mon, you don't get that brown from giving out tobacco industry money on the floor of the House, do you?

Hey, maybe he's tanning from the inside?

Watch the clip, click over the jumperoo for all the gotcha clips.

Video -- A Song for Jeff Zucker

Don't let the door hit your corporately-aggrandized ass on the way out.

Somewhere up there (if there is an up there) Brandon Tartikoff is singing along.

Video -- Do You Engage in Sexual Intercourse? If So, This is Critical Viewing

Okay Christine O'Donnell, you can just click to the next post. Nothing here for you to see.

BTW, I don't believe for a moment that that woman is a virgin. She wants you to be if you're not married, btw. Oh, and don't diddle yourself, that would be wrong, lustful ... and I betcha she figures it makes you gay, too, since you're having sex with someone of the same sex.

But I digress.

Now, you won't be seeing Desperate Housewives' Kathryn Joosten and Mad Men's Rich Sommer having sex on this desk in the image above ... but I don't wanna spoil the clip for you so let's just say there might be other places for them to engage in the act on set.

A quick description ...

Every year, the U.S. Patents Office copyrights 57 new sex acts. Who gets those patents is decided by Mr. Stevens and Mrs. Davis - collectively known as The Committee. In each episode, a different hopeful pitches to the Department of Amatory Copyright in the hope that their imaginative new sex act will become this years' Rusty Trombone.

Two episodes, the first with Community's Alison Brie and the second featuring The Big Bang Theory's Simon Helberg, after the jump.

If you watch these at work with the volume way up ... well, if you do you're a moron. NSFW.

From FunnyOrDie.com, where your favorite TV actors go to say dirty words.

Preview the Hour of Television That Makes Glee's Heather Morris a Star

Right? RIGHT? RIGHT?

Of course I'm right.

One more pic, just 'cuz. 

Gotta wait til Tuesday for the Britney episode, is it killing you?

 

Video -- Betty White Raps Anthropological on Community

And you can see the trailer for Betty's new movie, You Again, when you click this link.

It's Getting Weirdly Prescient Here ... Kate Walsh Guests on Children's Hospital Sunday

Remember not two days ago when I posted the new House key art that looked like Corddry on this show and I said that it would be cool if Kate Walsh did a guest thing for them since the show's a parody of Grey's and ... I didn't know when I wrote that that it had actually already been shot and we're gonna see it Sunday.

Kate seen above with Taye Diggs from her day job at Private Practice. Why Taye? Why not? Have you seen him?

Press release:

Lois La Fonda (guest star Mather Zickel), host of Newsreaders visits the set of Childrens Hospital as the cast and crew reflect on the show’s history, recent cancellation and new questions about the dolphin’s place in the ecosystem. The episode includes a special visit with Kate Walsh (Private Practice) and Jason and Randy Sklar guest star.

You know what I think would be great? If the Federal Reserve sent me a check for $8 billion. Hey, if stuff's gonna happen because I post it here I should dream big, right?

Children's Hospital, Sundays at Midnight (because going to work on Monday tired is cool) on adult swim. It's what happens to Cartoon Network when the monsters come to eat your kids.

Fall Into New Thursday Shows -- What I'm Watching, Recording, Skipping Altogether

Will Outsourced be the racist abomination everyone says it is? Will Fringe's Olivia convince the psychiatrists in the alternate universe that her world exists? How will I record two shows while watching another? Will more DVRs have to be employed to satiate my Bones Jones?

Let's find out, it's Thursday and it's the most competitive night of TV we've got. Hard choices will be made, shows will rise, shows will fall. Here we go!

8 pm

Watching -- Community and 30 Rock (NBC)

Recording -- The Big Bang Theory and Shit My Dad Says (CBS)

Recording on the downstairs DVR -- Bones (Fox)

Skipping -- Vampire Diaries (CW), My Generation (ABC)

---

The surprise here is the Fox drama which I'll record on DVR II. I've been eating up episodes on TNT, on WGN, on my local Fox station in San Diego ... I just have never watching the show in prime time. That will change this season to some extent as I know enough about the cast and their history to bump myself up to new eps as they air on Fox.

Great show, great chemistry, great characters ... and the procedural angle lets me drop in on them whenever I get the time. Temperance Brennan might be the most unique female character on the tube and Emily Deschanel finds her quirks in the corners and brings them forward elegantly. She's wonderful with Boreanaz, who honestly I hadn't really seen a lot of before watching this (Buffy and Angel happened in a time when I wasn't so TV-centric). He's very good.

You can see my posts today on Community and 30 Rock by clicking the show titles here.

Because they are comedies which are a dying breed on TV I will check out Shatner's Shit Show (which may or may not be shit, depends on the review you read) and the Indian call center comedy (at 9:30) as well.

My Generation? I just don't have the time, even if I had the inclination.

The rest of the evening's plans after the jump.

Video -- Community Returns with a Twittersode, Betty White and Next Week Drew Carey

And new cast pics, natch. But about the Twitter component of tonight's show, from the press release ...

Leading into the season premiere of COMMUNITY, NBC and Sony Pictures Television will debut a COMMUNITY “Twittersode ”Thursday, September 23 at 4:00p.m./PT (7:00p.m./ET). This event marks a first-of-its-kind digital marketing effort between NBC, Sony Pictures Television, and the characters of the comedy series COMMUNITY. 

Just prior to the East Coast premiere of COMMUNITY, an exclusive "Twittersode," comprised of 80 tweets, will unfold between everyone's favorite COMMUNITY characters. The “Twittersode” will act as a prequel “scene” just prior to the premiere episode and will focus on events leading up to the start of the characters second year at Greendale Community College including, making arrangements for their first meet up of the year as well as preparations for their first class, Anthropology 101.

The entire “Twittersode” event will be presented at www.NBC.COM/CommunityTwittersode

You can also watch the “Twittersode” unfold by following the character handles at:

http://twitter.com/annieedisonGCC

http://twitter.com/jeffwingeratlaw

http://twitter.com/abedstweets

http://twitter.com/troytbone09

http://twitter.com/brittafeed

http://twitter.com/shirley_GCC

http://twitter.com/hawthornewipes

http://twitter.com/alexosbourneGCC

http://twitter.com/greendaledean

http://twitter.com/senorchang_gcc

http://twitter.com/oldwhitemansays

http://twitter.com/anniesB00Bs

If you’d like to tweet about COMMUNITY and our “Twittersode” please use the hash tag  #NBCCommunity

And of course, they're Betty White as a new prof teaching Anthropology, because you can't shoot a TV show anymore without hiring Betty White. It's a California law.

More, including Drew Carey, after the jumperoni.

Video -- Carrie Keagan on HLN's Behar Show Discussing Christine O'Donnell

Look, it's my friend Carrie, in NYC, on Joy Behar's show, talking about politics. Love that!!! Sorry it's blurry, it's a screengrab from online video.

She's talkin' Christine O'Donnell of course, the most fun political story of the moment. And the other woman on the panel with her, Judge Karen from the court show, has all the facts about how O'Donnell pays her rent with campaign contributions, what she's said in the past, what she's likely to do in the future if elected.

Of course, she won't be elected, so that's not really a worry. Still, if you're in Delaware get out and vote for her opponent anyway.

The clip's after the jump. Look Carrie, you're on Headline News! So versatile, you should host your own show.

Her online home is No Good Television, visit her there. I do.

Video -- Not Getting Arrested at the Today Show? Tina Fey (30 Rock Returns Tonight)

They're back tonight. And I have not only Tina Weena on Today with Matt but I have two preview clips after the jump (one with Matt Damon) AND a beautiful 30 Rock Top of the Rock black and white photo gallery with the show's stars taken by NBC's Art Streiber. The first image after the jump of Tina is just fabulous.

The clip is after the jump and this pic of Jack McBrayer below I just loved and had to include. It's also from Streiber.

And btw, these are the people who should have been arrested at the Today show this morning (LINK).

Video -- TLC's Sister Wives on the Today Show, Why Isn't a Cop on Set Arresting Them?

Isn't polygamy illegal? What the fuck?

They're right there at NBC, in Rockefeller Centre, I could find them (and I can't usually find my keys).

What can you expect from the cable network who will eventually bring you Sarah Palin's Alaska? They seem not to give a fuck about the law, they just very happily go about making a show about people engaging in illegal behavior.

Can you imagine any TV network doing a non-judgmental series about a bunch of people growing weed in Humboldt County? Of course not, so why is TLC producing a program about these people who are also engaging in an illegal activity, and why aren't local police making arrests?

If these religious fundamentalists can tell me who I can or can not marry, why can't I demand that law enforcement do their job and arrest these Browns for all the laws they are breaking?

On top of that, when you watch the interview (it's after the jump) it's obvious that these women are being subjugated by their religion and this guy. Find the part of the interview when Meredith asks the women why plural marriage never seems to include more than one man. Just watch their reactions.

Can you blame me for not being pissed off? In a country that denies me the right to marry the person I love there are these people, many of which are protected by the Mormon Church (the same people who were instrumental in taking away those rights), these people, this man in particular, flouts the law to the point of appearing on national television with his multiple wives.

And TLC has no problem with this. Well of course they don't, they do business with Sarah Palin.

Tonight on Craig Ferguson, The Cast of The Big Bang Theory (or at least the guys)

Kaley Cuoco, as you might have heard, took a dive off of a horse or a Ford Mustang (something equine) and is recovering.

The rest of them will be with Craig tonight starting on their set and then they get to be held prisoner in the dark, leaky confines of Craig's studio with Geoff and the row of seats reserved for lesbians and hopefully Sid the bunny rabbit will show up to scream FUCK at someone.

Watch some of Craig's cold opening in a clip after the jump.

The show is one of three that you might wanna catch tomorrow night at 8 pm. What to do, what do to?

Fall Into New Wednesday Shows -- What I'm Watching, Recording, Skipping Altogether

Okay, first things first ... Tosh.0 is on Wednesdays, not Tuesdays. Sorry. No, not sorry it's on, sorry I erred. I know it's not the most challenging show on the air but it's good before bed I don't wanna think about anything TV.

Which would also explain why it outrates Stewart and Colbert, though at five nights a week the latter two shows must get in front of more sets of eyes per week. I think. I hope. And there's all the web viewing and the int'l edition of The Daily Show.

Because it's just sad that more people like Tosh. Okay, moving on ...

Once again note that I don't actually watch any TV as it airs, so the whole watch, record, skip thing is a bit of a push, but not much of one.

8 pm

Watching -- Undercovers (NBC)

Recording -- Better With You (ABC) at 8:30

Skipping -- The Middle (ABC), Top Model (CW), Survivor (CBS), Lie to Me (Fox)

---

A quick note about 8 pm, Patricia Heaton appears on that list of TV I keep that includes Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Angie Harmon ... less I pay attention the less maybe everyone else pays attention. A shame, because I enjoy Neil Flynn.

Watching Undercovers despite the mixed reviews ... if nothing else it's great eye candy (though I would have preferred Gugu Mbatha-Raw's TV sister Freema Agyeman, but lets face it I'm really just daydreaming about an empty beach at sunset and Boris Kodjoe laying on a blanket with a grape in his mouth.

Better With You on ABC should be a great addition to the Wednesday comedy lineup. Three words ... Debra Jo Rupp, from Seinfeld and That 70s Show. Also the very castable Jennifer Finnegan and Joanna Garcia (they've both had very good fortune with pilots getting on air) and Jim Burrows directs the pilot, always a good sign of the talent on board.

The rest of the evening after the jump.

Morning Hot Links -- Pirates, Vampire Maddow, Lone Star Ratings Woes, Hurley, 1969 ...

... and more.

See, you didn't think you'd get a new logo card for this feature each time, did you. Well, you won't. There aren't that many pictures of sausage on the web, believe it or not.

You'll notice this pan of sausage above was shot with the same camera that shoots Barbara Walters for The View (gaussian blur of the seventh ring of hell).

Alrighty then, here we go ...

1. Pirates, aye matey ... LATimes Morning Fix blog on streaming video sites set up by brazen digital pirates are popping up and getting shot down with great regularity. These are sites that are frequented by TV fans that don't have the wherewithal to use uTorrent, usually with a monthly charge for use.

2. In this clip a man posits that Rachel Maddow is a vampire. Hey, I know Karl Lagerfeld is one, so it's completely possible that Rachel could be a fanger. The clip is at this link. The review of the clip from the Maddow blog at this link.

3. I might not be watching that screener of Lone Star too fast. Turns out the ratings for the highly acclaimed pilot episode were horrible, so bad they might cancel immediately. Not even better than your typical USA or TNT drama, more along the lines of A&E with a 1.3 rating and 4.1 million viewers in the overnights. Meanwhile, Hawaii 5-O raked in the eyes with a solid premiere (which I did watch and enjoyed, more on that later). More from Hibberd and his colleagues at THR. Hey, do you think it's the Jon Voight issue? I wasn't interested because he was cast, maybe there were others? Man, do I dislike Jon Voight, even more than Craig T. Nelson.

4. Jorge Garcia will never ever leave your ABC station. EVER! They've done a couple reshoots on the Mr. Sunshine pilot to include him as an employee at the arena that Matthew Perry runs, per Ausiello at EW. Will he recur? Maybe sez Mike, since Perry is a big Lostie.

5. The ABC Fall Preview Special ... from 1969! I was just a pup living on Long Island and hoping the Mets could beat the Orioles in the Series when I last saw this and I'm sure I saw this, it was mandatory viewing for young Joe. In two parts starting with this and then this link. It'll take you back.

American Idol -- It's JLo and It's Official

The press release below:

GLOBAL SUPERSTAR JENNIFER LOPEZ JOINS FOX FAMILY, 

LAUNCHING FIRST-LOOK DEAL WITH FOX FILMS

AND JOINING FOX BROADCASTING’S “AMERICAN IDOL” AS NEW JUDGE

Golden Globe-nominated actress, platinum-selling recording artist, movie producer and entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez has entered a new deal with both Twentieth Century Fox Films and Fox Broadcasting Company, creating a “first-look” film agreement for her company Nuyorican Productions, and joining AMERICAN IDOL as a judge during its milestone 10^th season, which begins January 2011 on FOX.

“Jennifer is a true entertainment powerhouse who has made a tremendous impact on pop culture,” said Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, Chairmen and CEOs, Fox Filmed Entertainment. “Whether as an actress, singer, songwriter or producer, she is a fantastic creative talent, and we’re thrilled to be in business with her.”

“We’re incredibly excited to have Jennifer join the Fox family,” said Peter Rice, Chairman of Entertainment for Fox Networks Group. “From the worlds of dance and music to television, films and fashion, she is a global superstar with iconic and captivating style, along with impressive insight on how to reach and move audiences worldwide.”

“As an artist and producer, I am excited to call Fox my home, and I am looking forward to working with Tom, Jim, Peter and the entire Fox team to create and produce the kinds of film and television projects that reflect my passion for entertaining audiences and telling great stories,” said Lopez.

ABOUT JENNIFER LOPEZ

Actress, singer, producer and entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez has sold over 55 million records worldwide and starred in multiple box office No. 1s, including “Monster-In-Law” and “The Wedding Planner.” In 2001, “The Wedding Planner” was the nation’s top-grossing film, while her album, “J.Lo,” was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The two simultaneous No. 1 honors made Lopez the first woman in history to have a No. 1 movie and album in the same week. Lopez recently starred in CBS Films’ New York-set romantic comedy “The Backup Plan.” Prior to taking time off to have children, she had last been seen in the feature films “El Cantante,” a drama about the life of salsa legend Hector Lavoe; and “Bordertown” opposite Antonio Banderas – both of which she produced. In December 2010, Lopez will release her latest album, “Love?,” on Island/Def Jam Records. Along with partner Simon Fields, Lopez’s production company, Nuyorican, is in development on several film and TV projects, including the romantic comedy “Taming Ben Taylor,” in which she will star as a top-notch real estate agent who wins over a rugged vintner; “Nannyland” at ABC ; “Sweet Little 15” for Fox Searchlight, which tells of a young Mexican girl’s coming-of-age story as she plans her Quinceañera; and the teen television comedy and book series, “Amigas Sweet 15 Club,” which will follow five teens in Miami who run a Quinceañera (Sweet 15) business. Nuyorican is also working on notable film projects, including “The Governess” with CBS Films and a remake of “Overboard” with Sony. Lopez made her feature debut in the highly acclaimed “Mi Familia,” which garnered her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her role as the young mother “Maria Sanchez.” Lopez earned widespread acclaim for her work in the title role of “Selena,” which brought her a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2002, Lopez was awarded ShoWest Female Star of the Year, and in 2006, Lopez received the Women in Film: Crystal Award. Additionally, the National Council of La Raza, the largest Latino advocacy group in the nation, named her Entertainer of the Year at the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards. Her other film credits include Lasse Hallström’s “An Unfinished Life” with Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman; Oliver Stone’s “U-Turn”; “Maid In Manhattan,” co-starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Bob Hoskins and Natasha Richardson; “Money Train” with Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes; Francis Ford Coppola’s “Jack” with Robin Williams; “Blood and Wine” opposite Jack Nicholson; Luis Mandoki’s “Angel Eyes”; “The Cell”; Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight” with George Clooney; Michael Apted’s “Enough”; and “Anaconda” with Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz and Ice Cube. Via Nuyorican, Lopez made her foray into the role as television producer with her dance-reality show for MTV entitled “Dance Life” as well as the UPN drama “ South Beach .” Lopez also heads a best-selling line of fragrances and was awarded with the ACE Fashion Icon of the Year award in 2006 for her contribution to accessories and the fashion industry. Lopez continues to demonstrate a commitment to making a difference through her various philanthropic endeavors. Her passion for making this world better is highlighted through her work with children via The Maribel Foundation, a not-for-profit she started with her sister, Lynda. The Maribel Foundation’s mission is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of women and children and raising the level of medical care available to them. The foundation is currently working with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on a telemedicine program that will help underserved communities around the world to be treated by top doctors.

Video -- New From The CW and Bret Easton Ellis?

No, but it does have Bret Harrison (Reaper) and Amanda Crew and ... click it, it's from Funny Or Die.

Good morning.

Is Someone at Fox Watching Children's Hospital on Adult Swim?

Because this morning I saw this ...

... and it sure reminded me of this.

Now I want Hugh Laurie to do a walk on at Children's Hospital. Actually the perfect person to do a guest spot on the show would be Kate Walsh, what with the show spoofing sexy hospital dramas and her not being a stranger to a little TV hospital linen closet action herself.

Watch full episodes of Children's Hospital at Adult Swim, they're waiting for you at this link.

Fall Into New Tuesday Shows -- What I'm Watching, Recording, Skipping Altogether

Like I said yesterday, I don't watch TV as it happens so this is more of an exercise than truth. Can't afford to watch live, the commercials at 9-plus minutes to each half hour.

But, the the snog, marry, avoid game, there are three choices here. I could just tell you which show I would snog but that would be a rugby match every time. They're hot, and I may be older but I'm not dead.

Enough of that, let's get to Tuesday ...

8 pm

Watching -- Glee (Fox)

Recording -- Nothing in particular

Skipping -- Do you have a pen? There are so many.

---

Glee's back with new cast members which means new complications. But tonight it's all about uniting, and what better to unite the Cheerios and the New Directions than a new enemy. Check out my post on Coach Beiste at this link and remember that two newbie students show up and wreak havoc on the emotional crutches that hold Kurt and Rachel on their feet.

Oh, and surprise (!!!) they're gonna sing and dance some.

Now I might have recorded No Ordinary Family but I already saw the pilot online (my remarks at this link) so I'm not recording anything. No weight loss shows for me, and now CW shows. The CW isn't for me, they specialize in putting young people in situations they have no business being in and if they were a parent we'd be arresting them for putting their kid in a mylar balloon and flying him over Denver. NCIS is a show I can watch with my dad so I save it for that.

Of course there's still episodes of Warehouse 13 to come from Syfy (Tuesday's at 9). And Bourdain. And rugby. And there's stuff to come on PBS including Circus and the Ken Burns' sequel to Baseball.

The rest of the night after the jumperoo.

My List of Women on TV Who Should Be Sued For Emotional Distress Before the Kardashians

No doubt you've heard by now that a Pennsylvania inmate named D.J. Goodson (who by the way is not the same D.J. Goodson that has a Myspace page ... though I was amused that someone still does have a Myspace page) is suing the Kardashians for what he calls extreme emotional distress for having to watch them on the communal prison TV.

Harsh, huh? I mean, there are so many other people who are seen regularly on the tube that deserve to be sued before considering the three above and their various boyfriends, wackjob momagers, younger siblings who do age inappropriate photo shoots and of course former a Olympic champion, at least I think that's him (if you squint and think about Montreal it still looks like him).

So, I've taken it upon myself to start a list of those people. Play along. Please.

1. Nancy Grace

I don't even watch the channel and I see enough of her to know that she's more distressing, even more distressing than a round of "hey kim hey khlo hey court" on an endless audio loop.

And, not only is Grace the single most abrasive woman on television but she also invites other caustic people on her Headline News program to join her.

Now Nancy has a syndicated show. It didn't sell in San Diego so I've avoided the ads for it but I'm sure McHale and the gang at The Soup will be serving me hot steaming Grace until the show's hopeful demise.

All I know is that the image on the top left corner of the website has had some series photoshop done to it. She is certainly not that thin.

2. Suzi Barrett

You don't know her by name. She's the woman who used to get in the elevator with the 1-800-DENTIST guy. She annoys the fuck outta me.

Okay, I'm sure it was just the direction she was given by the director of the ad. The dialog didn't help, either. She actually made me like Fred Joyal and distract me from realizing that Fred isn't a dentist but an ad copywriter that just founded the service.

Now Suzi's on those Progressive Insurance ads with the group of employees in the office that have witty banter and all seem to tolerate each other despite being incredibly annoying archetypes, I know you've seen it.

She wrote for Current's infoMania for a while, she's a member of UCB/LA and I'm absolutely sure she has friends and her relatives think kindly of her. I'm trying to be nice.

3. Norah O'Donnell

Yes, the NBC News correspondent. I just don't like this woman. Don't you have that with some people, that there's just something, it might be her tone of voice or a way her face looks when she's talking into a mic, but she comes on the air and I just wanna throttle her.

Sorry, Norah. It's obviously nothing personal, I don't know you. You probably wouldn't like me, either. Why? I have very strong yet unsupported opinions, about you for example.

As much as I don't like Norah, however, Sarah Palin's fans like her even less, as you would know if you read Norah's Wikipedia page. They didn't like what they considered an ambush of a Palin supporter who she interviewed outside a book signing.

It wasn't of course, it was just O'Donnell doing her job.

Even with that my testicles pull up into my torso whenever Norah shows up on NBC.

Two more after the jumperoo.

Fall Into New Shows Tonight -- What I'm Watching, Recording, Skipping Altogether

I don't actually watch any TV as it airs, so we'll just make believe that I do for this exercise. And, here we go ...

8 pm

Watching -- How I Met Your Mother & Rules of Engagement (CBS)

Recording -- Chuck (NBC)

Skipping -- 90210 (CWTV), House (Fox), Dancing With the "are they really?" Stars (ABC)

---

I love my Monday comedies and eat them up first. I don't care that you think I'm lame for watching Rules, it's a funny show made even funnier with last year's cast addition (Adhir Kalyan). Now Jaime Pressly comes on as a surrogate mom for Audrey and Jeff, and that should spice things up for David Spade's Russell character. I'm a Spade fan. Shoot me. Also, Oliver Hudson? Totally doable, and he's funny.

About HIMYM I don't care if Ted meets his wife at all, there's plenty of good stuff going on all the time to distract me from the conceit of the show. Plus as a gay man I'm charged with watching all top shelf gay male actors when they are on TV. Your welcome, Neil.

Recording Chuck. Honestly I didn't catch the last 10 (I know, 10 is a lot) episodes from last season. Hate to tell you this NBC, but I may bail on the show altogether if my love affair with rugby and the Aviva Premiership continues. Sorry, ruggers are hot. Hotter than Zach Levi.

The rest of the evening after the jump. Times are eastern.

In Vanity Fair, Photos of Glee's Dianna Agron, At Tumblr Photos BY Glee's Dianna Agron

Very nice set of pics of Glee's Quinn at this link at VF (I was there for my previous Boardwalk Empire post).

But more important is Dianna Agron's Tumblr blog where she posts her images. I like them, I like her eye, I like that her pics tell you something about her and her interests.

Oh, and she takes pics of her co-stars. Are you in now? I thought so.

I'm stealing this one image and the text from her because I figure that I'm doing a good deed by posting it and she won't mind too much. Dianna, if you do just gimme a shout on Twitter (it's how I found your blog) and I'll take it down.

Her Twitter link here. That image after the jump

Video -- I Got Lost On HBO's Boardwalk ..., Did You?

So I'm watching this show and I'm figuring it out and all and getting to know the characters and feel out their motivations ... and then a whole bunch of people get shot or arrested and I realized I had no idea what the hell was going on.

So I typed "Boardwalk Empire recap" into Google and read the Vanity Fair recap (yes, Conde Nast is in the business of reporting on what happens on a TV show -- do you think that's maybe why magazines are dying?) and now it all makes more sense.

According to the VF recap ...

The gangsters meet. An old mafioso speaks too floridly, showing that he is a man of the past who will not last long. Another gangster has too much of the old country in him; he will be gunned down while listening to opera and his is the blood that will make a cinematic pool on the clean white tiles. We are thus informed that a man too in love with the old culture has no place in the high-speed world of crime in 1920!

Did you get that while watching it? I didn't even consider it, everyone in old-timey clothes looks old to me, even the guy who played the young Arnold Rothstein looked old. Is that because productions typically cast younger looking actors in general? Because actors are obsessed with staying young looking to improve their chances of being cast? Because of all the injectables under their facial skin? I dunno.

Also lost on me was ... (again, Vanity Fair)

... we meet Boardwalk Empire’s Disgusting Fellow No. 2, Mickey Doyle, over at the morgue, which serves as a front for a distillery. But first Scorsese gives us an overhead shot of a naked woman’s cadaver, its full bush perhaps a rejoinder to our own waxed era. The purpose of his having broken out the big cinematic guns here, with the overhead shot, we are soon given to learn, is to inform us that the fellow running the place, the aforementioned Mickey, is a pervert. It seems he sets aside the more attractive corpses for his own use. This man seemingly has no place among even the low-lifes who will be populating this crime story. And by the end of the episode, wouldn’t you know it, Hans the abusive husband is killed, and Mickey the pervert undertaker is busted by the Feds.

The only part of that I saw was the giant shrubbery. I didn't get that he was doing cadavers.

Disgusting fellow No. 1 of course was the guy beating his wife. Not that he's MORE disgusting, it's just that we encounter him first. And of course the wife's pregnant which adds bonus disgusting points.

More after the jump.

Video -- Girlfriend, Look Who Cowell Put Through on X-Factor! It's Diva Fever!!!

Yes, Diva Fever is two guys from Manchester named Joseph and Craig.

Their first audition piece was a cover of Let It Be, but that wasn't gonna cut it for the show or for the judges, including Cowell, Louis Walsh and guest judge in Glasgow Nicole Scherzinger.

So they broke out a little Proud Mary. Emphasis on the MARY.

Then Cowell put them through to the next round. Emphasis on the PROUD.

Watch 'em, the clip's after the jump.

They think of themselves as Wham!-like. I will set a reminder in 20 years to check for their names in a London police blotter.

More about them at Digital Spy at this link.

Boardwalk Empire Preview Video -- Is HBO Making Oscar-Worthy Series While America Wants Popcorn TV?

I'd love to tell you something about HBO's new series Boardwalk Empire that you don't know, but I can't. I don't rate with the cable channel, they only send me screeners when it's a gay-themed documentary or a stand up comic that I write about with vigor.

I even reminded the HBO powers that be that I was more than likely the only TV writer working either for an established publication or independently that went to high school with the star of this series, Steve Buscemi. Didn't help.

So I don't know much more than you do, it's about the Atlantic City of the prohibition era, Buscemi and his buggy eyes and skewed smile plays Nucky Thompson who runs the joint, there's lots of period costumes and flapper music and guns and alcohol being smuggled hither and yon, and at least from the preview special that HBO's been running (on what seems like an endless loop) it seems they felt compelled to shoot the whole thing through light brown gauze.

Watch that preview in a clip after the jump, btw. Finish reading this first, of course.

So, to the question in the headline ... whaddaya think? Seems to me HBO spends a lot of money (their money, their choice) on quality programming that not a whole lot of people watch.

Like Treme, which for all its pedigree didn't manage to rise to a noteworthy level in our pop culture zeitgeist, this show looks like a very well-produced hour that ... well, I don't know about you but I'm not really enthused about.

And this Boardwalk Empire? Certainly Martin Scorsese is one of the most accomplished makers of filmed entertainment we've produced in this country but is he what one would call a producer of populist entertainment?

Indiewire calculated the grosses of Scorsese's top ten films released in North America and they are:

1. The Departed (2006)  $132,384,315
2. The Aviator (2004) $102,610,330
3. Cape Fear (1991) $79,091,969
4. Gangs of New York (2002) $77,812,000
5. The Color of Money (1986)  $52,293,982
6. Goodfellas (1990) $46,836,394
7. Shutter Island (2010) $41,062,440
8. Casino (1995) $42,512,375
9. The Age of Innocence (1993) $32,255,440
10. Taxi Driver (1977) $28,262,574

All solid motion pictures, many Oscar given to people involved. Only two broke the $100 million mark.

The point I'm making? If HBO wants to combat the drop in subscriptions and the oncoming storm from Showtime and even Starz (go Torchwood!) they gotta go populist while they continue to work with industry elites to win Emmys and critical acclaim.

More True Blood, less John Adams. More Eastbound & Down (a series that's a bit too lowbrow for me but plays for the mainstream male demo) and less Bored to Death.

Though I'm totally in on Mildred Pierce, another period drama (5-part miniseries, image above left) for the channel scheduled for 2011. Though I will admit my primary exposure to the material was via Carol Burnett.

But Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood in this story? That I'll watch.

And I'll check out Boardwalk Empire, too. I go into it, however, hesitantly.

RIP The Rotten Tomatoes Show -- Current's Movie Review Show Folded Into infoMania

This sucks. I blame all of you who didn't watch. I watched but I'm so out of their demo it probably didn't count. In fact I think my watching actually results in ratings points being taken away from the show.

So I guess my idea for Current to do a TV show about TV called The TV Show is out of the question?

Fuck, I was counting on that money for when Social Security goes belly up.

I'm guessing that Ellen Fox will be the face of the segment on infoMania since Brett has his Viral Video Film School segment already.

If there's no money for this show, what about SuperNews? That must cost more: animators, voice talent, the people who make the mouths move to the words ... go watch some at this link. Maybe the $0.0000003 per viewing Current makes will fund a second of The Douchebags.

RIP The Rotten Tomatoes Show. The segment will live on as well as the site, of course, which was there first after all. If you like, watch the final episode, it's posted after the jump.

Video -- Is Lindsay Lohan's December 4th SNL Gig in Jeopardy?

So, you know how I don't like Lorne Michaels because ... well, make a list that starts with turning his back on Cheri Oteri ... but I was pleasantly surprised when I had heard that SNL booked Lindsay for the December 4 show, which I believe is the last night of November Sweeps.

Well I don't think that's gonna happen now, do you? Not now that she failed her FIRST drug test.

Yeah, she shouldn't be hanging with Dina, bad influence.

I'm so kidding. Maybe.

Hey, I don't know anything about her real life but I do know that rehab should take for more than a month. She should get her money back.

Or, she could actually actively participate in her recovery instead of hanging in clubs with ne'er do wells.

In any event I have to believe the SNL gig is off the table at the moment. I hope it is. Maybe it's the carrot they need to put in front of her to get clean.

Watch the first Debbie Downer sketch (featuring Lindz and new mom Rachel Dratch) after the jump.

Spartacus Actor Whitfield Will Not Return for Second Season After All

This is sad news. I think we were all taken aback a little with the word months ago that Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Today comes word that Whitfield, who seemed according to reports very energetic when the pic above was taken at Comic-Con this past July, has fallen out of remission and is involved once again in aggressive treatment for the illness.

What a shame. It's the guy's big break and his body just isn't cooperating at all.

Of course that's just the tip of it, there's a wife and kids to consider and ... oh, I'm just sad, sadder than I usually am when it's someone I don't know.

About the future of the show, nothing has been determined yet, though Starz is still intent on running the prequel series that they shot during Andy's first go-round of medical care. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena will still air in 2011 per the channel.

The text of their press release from Whitfield's publicist is reproduced in whole after the jump (hat tip to Hibberd at THR Live Feed). I'll set up a couple Google alerts to stay informed on this and get info to you as it is revealed.

I'm curious to see if they will recast the role, and if so, with who, but mostly sad about the turn of events for Whitfield.

Glee Video -- This Season, a Very Formidable Female Nemesis for Sue

Uh oh, there's a new woman at McKinley High and she takes no shit from anyone. Not even Sue Sylvester.

And ... she's the new football coach. Yeah, football coach. And she is not Goldie Hawn in that Wildcats movie. Not at all.

Meet her on video, it's after the jump. But first ...

They really chose well, huh? They could be brother and sister. Or even more related to each other than that.