As Seen On My TV

OK, rabid Alias fans. Better rush to pre-order the Alias Complete Series box set. The set, which will look like the Rambaldi box opens up to 29 discs of Alias goodness, including a bonus features disc and a commemorative booklet. The DVD set comes out November 21st and retails for $199.99. And for all you suckers (including me) who already own the first four seasons, Season 5 comes out the same day (sans the bonus disc, commemorative booklet and the Rambaldi box cover). For more info, click here. Also, Amazon.com already has the set on pre-order. If you'd like to help out my website, click the referral link below for the DVD set!

Blockbuster movie director, Bryan Singer, will be a happy camper this pilot season. He's just signed a deal with ABC to develop three TV scripts, with one guaranteed to be made into a pilot. This is the X-Men and Superman Returns director's first TV deal, but he does have experience on the small screen. He helped develop SciFi's Battlestar Galactica and is currently executive producer on the Emmy-nominated House.

Remember when Mary Kate and Ashley were cute as buttons and wore the same outfit in different colors? After seeing this pic, I kind of wished Mary Kate followed Ashley's fashion sense instead of channeling her inner Greek/Roman hippie.

So, I happened to be watching ABC a few days ago, and in between the programming, a very long promo for Grey's Anatomy happened to come on. I'm talking about 5 minutes here, in the form of a music video. The video is a Snow Patrol remake of their song, "Chasing Cars" to include the best of Grey's. I love the song, and I love Grey's so mixing them together was seriously a no-brainer with fantastic results. Seriously!

Jate fans beware! Looks like there could be a new lady in Jack's life. Lost producers have just cast Elizabeth Mitchell as an Other for season 3. The actress, who's had guest appearances on ER, CSI and Boston Legal, is perhaps best known as Mrs. Clause in Tim Allen's Santa Clause movies. Careful Jack! She'll know when you're being naughty or nice...

Couldn't be in San Diego for Comic-Con? Have no fear- youtube to the rescue! Check out some of the highlights from the Veronica Mars panel, including Ryan Hansen channeling his inner Michael Jackson, below:

Looks like Steve Carrell might be getting nostalgic for The Daily Show days. His NBC show, The Office has just cast fellow, former Daily Show correspondent, Ed Helms, as his co-worker. Helms, who is best remembered by me for his riveting piece on Guns for Tots, will appear in at least 10 episodes this season.

For the record:

Oprah- NOT Gay
Lance Bass- Gay

That's right, in case you didn't know, the former N'Sync singer has come out on the record as being gay in this week's People magazine. He says he's in a relationship with reality show star, Reichen Lehmkuhl. That's news to...no one. The two have been spotted in public on several occasions, including various gay pride events for the past few months. But hey, the guy admitted it. Good for him. It's not like he's doing it to get back in the public eye. Oh wait, he's developing a sitcom based on The Odd Couple? And he'll play a gay character on the show? Oh...well, I'm sure the two pieces of news have nothing to do with each other...

Looks like the Lost island is about to get another scorching hot castaway. Rodrigo Santoro just got cast for the third season, according to TV Guide's Ausiello. You may have seen the Brazilian megastar in Laura Linney's love interest in Love, Actually or as a bad surfer guy in Charlie's Angels: Full ThrottleAccording to Lost's executive producer, Damon Lindeloff, Santoro was exactly what they were looking for. "He's a guy who's perfect for Lost because he's a face that the American audience is not familiar with, but he's been in the business long enough, you know, [that he's also] an awesome actor that makes some really interesting choices," he said. As for what role his character will play on Lost? Who cares, as long as he keeps his shirt off!

Think you've got the singing chops to be the next American Idol? Auditions for season six of the reality juggernaut begin August 8th in Pasadena. The show will also hold auditions in six other cities:

San Antonio- August 11
East Rutherford, NJ- August 14
Birmingham- August 21
Memphis- September 3
Minneapolis- September 8
Seattle- September 19

Auditions are open to men and women between the ages of 16 and 28 (as of August 6th). the sixth season of American Idol premieres on FOX next January. For more info, check out www.AmericanIdol.com

I'm not one for pageants, but this brilliant little bit of synergy has made me giddier than I've been in weeks. If you watched Project Runway on Bravo (owned by NBC Universal) last week, you saw designer Kayne make the winning evening gown for Miss USA Tara Connor's appearance in the Miss Universe pageant. And last night, NBC and NBC-owned Telemundo broadcast the pageant live. Unlike previous winning dresses on Project Runway (bad, bad Nancy O'Dell!), this gown was barely altered for Connor's strut down the catwalk. I guess it was good karma because she was fourth runner-up!

I love me some Grey's Anatomy, but I wouldn't exactly call it groundbreaking TV. And neither does the TV Land Awards. Check out this parody of Grey's that includes some classic cameos from TV's favorite doctors.

NBC will offer a sneak peek of their new sci-fi drama, Heroes, on Yahoo a few days before it officially premieres on TV. For those of you who don't know, Heroes is about a group of people who discover that they have superpowers and how their new-found powers affect their lives. (I got to see the pilot (one-hour version) a few days ago and will be posting my review soon.)
NBC is aggressively marketing its serials this year, with advance screenings of a 72 minute version of the Heroes pilot at Comic-Con and a partnership with Netflix to offer full-length pilot previews of Studio 60 and Kidnapped. No doubt, the peacock is tired of being the 4th place network.

In the midst of all the TCA press tour hoopla, the critics offered up their own awards ceremony. Winners included:

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)
OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM: “My Name Is Earl” (NBC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: “Lost” (ABC)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: “The Office” (NBC)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY: Steve Carell, “The Office” (NBC)
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA: Hugh Laurie, “House” (Fox)

Fans of Everwood won't let a good show die. A group of loyal watchers have been working on an event for the past few months to remember the show and encourage its release on DVD. If you watched the finale of Everwood, you know how Amy proclaimed her love for Ephram with a ferris wheel. Well fans are recreating the magic right near The CW headquarters! The event takes place tomorrow which (wink, wink) coincides with the TCA press tour. With plenty of reporters available to check out the action, the fans who planned the event will offer free ferris wheel rides and read letters about what Everwood meant to them. Appearances are expected from Everwood's creator Greg Berlanti, executive producer Rina Mimoun and Ephram himself, Gregory Smith. If you're in the LA area, and want to check out the event, here are the details:

Location: The Parking Lot of Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School 3333 West Oak St., Burbank, California 91505.

When: Friday, July 21 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. PST

Who's Invited?: The Cast, Crew and Creative Team from Everwood, Critics in town for the Television Critics Awards (TCAs) and Press Tour, all Media Outlets, all WB, CW, and UPN Executives and, of course, the fans!

For more info on the event, visit www.save-everwood.org

So, you may have heard of a new ABC show called Betty the Ugly Ugly Betty. I mentioned the show back during upfronts as something that I'd like to check out this fall. Well, according to most of the critics who have seen full pilots (trust me, I'm trying to get my grubby little paws on a copy) this show is shaping up to be the best of ABC's fall slate offering. With a cast that stars America Ferrara, Vanessa Williams, Eric Mabius and Alan Dale, this show about a young Latina girl who wants to make it in the fashion industry, sounds like a fun, feel-good ride. And hey, it's executive produced by famous Latina actress, Salma Hayek. Check out some pics from yesterday's TCA session and publicity stills from the pilot.

Netflix subscribers rejoice! NBC has announced that it will offer previews of two of the net's fall primetime series through the online movie rental service. The previews will be available six weeks before the shows premiere on NBC. One of the shows will be Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, an hour-long drama starring Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry. The other show is Kidnapped. To add these shows (all on one disc) to your queue, click here.

ABC Entertainment chief, Stephen McPherson, promises Desperate Housewives will be better in its third season after a creative stumble in Season 2. At the ABC session at the TCA tour, he said show creator, Marc Cherry, has revitalized the new season despite being the sole executive producer. "Marc has taken over 100 percent of the show-running and that's been a terrific change," he said. "The early scripts and the story lines and arcs and the mystery are a lot stronger from the get-go." After a dismal second season, that can't be too hard...

Oprah is not gay in case there's anyone out there wondering. The talk show queen uses the August issue of her O magazine to say she and her best friend, Gayle King, are not lovers. In the magazine Oprah says, "I understand why people think we're gay," she says. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women." I don't know about you, but best friend suffices for me...

And I happened to be perusing The Slug's website, and noticed he got The View scoop. Apparently, Star Jones-Reynolds least favorite co-host is making a comeback. E! correspondent, Debbie Matenopoulos, is heading back to her roots and the East Coast for some hot topics. I wonder if she'll get a chance to offer her two cents on Star's hasty retreat?

One of my favorite Veronica Mars sidekicks will be around Neptune for another season. Tina Majorino, who plays Cindy "Mac" MacKenzie, is back as the switched at birth computer whiz who is, by her own admission, the Q to Veronica's Bond. Majorino has signed on to be a series regular for the third season but she won't be every episode. Next season, we'll see Mac try to deal with a new roommate at Hearst College who is her exact opposite.

On a total side note, how fantastic is Tina looking these days?!? You'd barely think she's the little girl from Corrina, Corrina or Andre...

Kristin Bell is celebrating her 26th today! Happy Birthday to my favorite teen detective! And in honor of Kristen's b-day, I will have some Veronica Mars scoop for you (see above or click here)

In CBS' case, the egg came first in terms of advertising. In a press release distributed during Saturday's session of the TCA tour, the eye network says it will, "Hatch First of Its Kind 'Egg-vertising' Campaign for New Fall Shows." What does that mean exactly? Well, it could be that the next time you decide to make an omelet, you'll have to crack an egg that says "CBS Mondays: Funny Side Up" or "The Amazing Race: Scramble to Win on CBS." That's right. CBS has teamed up with a company called EggFusion that will print advertising slogans on 35 million eggs in September. All I can say is, what a yolk!

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino is the star of a telepic based on her autobiograpy. The TV movie, titled Life is Not a Fairy Tale, premieres on Lifetime on August 19. The movie chronicles how Barrino dropped out of high school and became an unwed mother at 17. The film also includes a rape scene that Barrino had a lot of difficulty reenacting, but felt was therapeutic. "At the end, I began to cry and I said, 'I went through all those things, but I know why I share my life.' I'm thankful that I was able to do it."

Sounds a heck of a lot better than From Justin to Kelly, doesn't it?

Uber-producer, J.J. Abrams, is saying goodbye to his fruitful relationship with Disney-owned Touchstone Television. Abrams will move over to Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. TV with a six-year deal worth more than $55 million. The move comes as a suprise since under the Touchstone banner, Abrams produced such gems as Felicity, Alias and LOST. However, Abrams recently produced Mission: Impossible 3 with Paramount. Abrams own production company, Bad Robot, will relocate outside of Disney's lot.

As you may have heard, it's Television Critics' Association press tour time. This is when networks offer critics a chance to question their stars about the upcoming fall TV season. Tears, isanity, psychotic episodes, they all tend to happened during the TCA tour and of course, this year was no exception. But sometimes, the oddness hits all time highs. Case in point: Mr. T's new advice show on TV Land called I Pity the Fool. That's right, that Mr. T. And the 80s icon who first introduced the masses to bling promises his show is unique. "My show ain't no 'Dr. Phil' where people sit around crying, 'What's wrong with me?' You a fool! That's what's wrong with you!" I guess the T stands for tough love...

Looks like Rachael Harris is having the Best. Week. Ever. The actress just joined the cast of "Evan Almighty 2" opposite Steve Carell and "License to Wed" opposite John Krasinski. No doubt she'll be getting some Office lovin' soon enough. She will also star in the new ABC sitcom "Notes from the Underbelly" this fall.

Peter Krause is headed back to TV this December. He will star in the event series The Lost Room for the SciFi channel. Krause was just nominated for the Emmy for best actor in a drama for his work on the last season of Six Feet Under.

Ah, nothing like synergy to make your head spin (or choke on breakfast). NBC has announced that the first two episodes of season 3 of Project Runway will reair on the network. Runway, which normally airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Bravo, can be seen again on NBC Mondays at 8 p.m. (NBC is Bravo's parent company.)
This marketing strategy has already been utilized more than once this summer season, as nets pull out all the stops to win ratings in what has tunred into a year-long TV season. ABC has reaired episodes of ABC Family show, Kyle XY, and FOX has aired episodes of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. What next? Will CBS skew young with episodes of The Real World?

Miss Kevin, Winnie and Paul? Well, just when you were going through vintage TV withdrawal, ION Media Networks seals a programming deal with Warner Bros., securing broadcast rights to several TV shows and movies. ION, which owns the i channel (formerly PAX), will air classic episodes of The Wonder Years, in addition to popular family series such as Growing Pains, Perfect Strangers and Mama's Family. "i" begins airing the Warner Bros. TV shows in August. My, my, just when I thought this channel only offered shows about pet miracles...

Want to see why certain people and shows got Emmy nominations while others didn't? Well, Goldderby.com is offering up a list of links to youtube with all the shows that were submitted. Now, I'm torn between Jeremy Piven and Will Arnett for the Best Supporting Actor race, but GOB Bluth wins by a hair. Let me know what you think by checking out Jeremy's Piven's acting chops in Exodus here, here, here and here. And don't forget to tickle your funny bone with some of Will Arnett's antics here, here, and here.

Excuse me while I watch TV on my computer and eat a lunch of hot, ham water...

I'm completely IN! Project Runway's third season kicks off tonight with a casting special at 9 p.m. and the season premiere at 10 p.m. This addictive reality show competition to find the best fashion designer is absolutely hilarious and just got nominated for its second Emmy! Between Heidi Klum's hotness and Michael Kor's bitchiness, this show is turning into Bravo's signature piece. And if you missed the reruns of S2 that ran all weekend, you get a second chance with an all-day marathon today. If you've never seen an episode, you are in for a treat, and his name is Santino!

Jamie and Bobby Dean finally have their own show on the Food Network. The sons of culinary queen, Paula Deen, have made appearances on her cooking show, but starting tonight, the boys begin their cross-country adventure on their new show, Road Tasted. Looks like we're the ones who are in for a treat while they search high and low for the best food from family-run businesses and specialty stores in America. You can catch the premiere tonight at 10 p.m.

"Felicity" star, Keri Russell, is the newest face of Cover Girl. The 30-year old (holy crap, 30!) actress will tout CoverGirl's latest makeup offering, Outlast Double Lipshine, in a TV ad that will air this month. Russell told AP that the commercial, in which she fights ninjas, played off of her role in Mission Impossible 3.
Ah, but we all know how indecisive our favorite college grad can be. What shade will she wear: Rose Quartz or Party Pink?!?!

The third season of Lost will be chock full of sex, if executive producer, Carlton Cuse, has anything to do with it. "It is organically the time where they can have relationships," he told Broadcast. "I am promising sex and hopefully it will be gratuitous."
Don't get me wrong. Seeing a little Foxy flesh would make my day, but "gratuitous" part brings bad images to mind. Sex should be part of the character development, not a ratings stunt. And not to mention that island sex hasn't exactly done wonders for Shannon or Ana Lucia...

Had a listen at Jessica Simpson's latest musical offering? Her single, "Public Affair" is getting a lot of airtime on the radio stations in the New York City area, and every time I happen to catch it, I start singing Madonna's "Holiday" over the tune. Well, apparently, I am not alone in hearing the similarities. And I thought I was so clever...

Chris and Clive: has a nice ring to it, huh? Let's hope so since American Idol contestant, Chris Daughtry has signed a record deal with RCA records' Clive Davis (in conjunction with Idol's 19 label). Daughtry, who turned down the lead singer gig with rock group, Fuel, will instead form his own band. His CD is expected to be released later this year. In the meantime, you can catch Chris on the American Idols concert tour...

Former Golden Girl, Rue McClanahan, is coming back to TV! The Emmy-award winning actress has signed on to star in Ryan's Life as the grandmother of a gay teen. The six-episode series will premiere on the gay TV channel, here!, in 2007.
The VP of Original Programming at here! says, "We are truly honored that Ms. McClanahan has agreed to join us on this project. She is an icon with a strong and loyal fanbase in the LGBT community, and we know they will love her in this role." Is it too much to hope that Betty White will make a cameo?

Comedy Central is airing Chappelle Show's "lost episodes" starting tonight at 9 p.m. These are the 3-third season episodes that Dave Chappelle began working on before he reneged on his $50 million contract and joined Angelina Jolie on a spiritual retreat in Africa. (j/k about Angelina.) Chappelle had publicly said that he did not want Comedy Central to air the episodes, but it looks like the network cares less about Dave's feelings than the bottom line. Doug Herzog, president of Comedy Central told The New York Times, "We did pay for the episodes, so we might as well use them. I am trying to run a business."
The first of the three episodes that will air begins with a shot of an empty chair and an intro for Chappelle, who doesn't appear. Not quite the magic of Rick James, but no need to worry about those ad dollars, Doug. I'll still be watching.

It's an honor just to be nominated. Right? Sure, that's what the canned response is, but according to Variety, these stars had more colorful reactions to their nominations:

Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs, said he'd forgotten the nominations were coming. "The phone rang this morning at 10 to 6, and we didn't answer it," he said. My wife and I -- she's pregnant -- got in a giant fight about how my stupid friends call too early in the morning. Then we listened to the message and we both felt like idiots."

With The Office nominated for top comedy series, exec producer Ben Silverman said he felt validated: "There are so many times in the entertainment industry when you look at your belly-button and think "Holy God, do I know what I'm doing?"

Regarding his own reaction, Silverman didn't mince words: "I am so psyched."

Shonda Rhimes, who was nommed for her work on Grey's Anatomy, said she never counted on a nomination. "I never expect anything," she said. "We're still at the place here where we're excited to be on the air and people are watching."

While many proclaimed themselves shocked to be nominated, Will Arnett, nominated for supporting actor in a comedy series for Arrested Development, said he was "shocked that the nominations came out on a Thursday. You would think they would do it on a marquee day like a Monday or a Friday."

Though the show was pulled, Arnett was grateful for the experience: "At the end of it all, to be nominated is sort of like icing on top of the icing on top of the icing on an already iced cake," he said.

Let me break it down on a camel's back. Or you know, share my opinion about the Emmy nods. This year was meant to be a harbinger of change. A new voting system was implemented that would allow fringe actors/actresses like Lauren Graham to get nominated. Well, the rule change didn't help Lauren. But it did help the cast of 24. The FOX drama earned 12 nominations, including two for Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart in the supporting categories. That was a nice surprise, but the overwhelming feeling of deja vu in some of the categories proves that the new system needs some tweaking.

ABC Gets a Mixed Bag:
The alphabet net's usual Emmy suspects were MIA this year as LOST and Desperate Housewives were essentially shut out of the best series and acting races. (Only Alfre Woodard got recognized for Supporting Actress in a Comedy and Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) for Guest Actor in a Drama.) This is a crying shame for LOST, and, no doubt, a wake-up call for DH after a dismal second season.
Stepping up the the plate for ABC was Grey's Anatomy. The show earned a nomination for best dramatic series and supporting actress nods for Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson. ABC's only hope in the lead acting categories is Geena Davis for Commander in Chief (what?!?!).

Getting Cancelled is a Good Thing:
It looks like a dead show is a sign of Emmys to come. The one obvious trend in this year's Emmy list is recognizing that which won't grace our TVs again (except in syndication). Multiple nods went out to Six Feet Under, Malcolm in the Middle, The West Wing (thank goodness this is it's final year!!!), and Will & Grace (ditto).

What Were They Thinking?:
The Emmy voters showed their age and their viewing habits (CBS, anyone?) with some very odd nominations. Two and a Half Men earned more nods than FOX's Arrested Development. That alone is a travesty. The CBS comedy got nods for best comedy series, best actor (Charlie Sheen) and best supporting actor (Jon Cryer). AD's sole acting nod came for Will Arnett's hilarious portrayal of Gob Bluth. Where is Jessica Walter's nod? Or Jason Bateman's? Or the whole damn AD cast?!?!?

This year's Emmy nominations weren't exactly same old, same old. (Otherwise we would have seen richly deserved nods for Edie Falco and James Gandolfini for The Sopranos.) But, aside from the occasional welcomed surprise (Chandra Wilson, Will Arnett), it looks like the Emmy nods are as relevant as the cancelled shows it chooses to honor.

Emmy nominations were announced this morning. While Lauren Graham and Kristin Bell didn't get noms, Will Arnett, AKA Gob Bluth, got a nod for Supporting Actor in a Comedy! Below are the nominations for Best Comedy and Drama:

Outstanding Comedy Series

Arrested Development • FOX
Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO
The Office • NBC
Scrubs • NBC
Two And A Half Men • CBS

Outstanding Drama Series

Grey’s Anatomy • ABC
House • FOX
The Sopranos • HBO
24 • FOX
The West Wing • NBC

For a full list of nominations, click here.

CBS has ordered a pilot executive produced by Ben Stiller. The half-hour comedy will star Stiller's wife, Christine Taylor, as a small-town girl who becomes famous in Hollywood. Stiller will guest star on the show.

NBC has ordered a pilot from the writer of the animated movie, Cars. The show, titled Lipshitz Saves the World, is about a teenage boy who believes he must save the world.

Youtube.com is getting quite the reputation these days. In addition to offering up an eclectic mix of old TV shows and fan videos, the site is currently host to the unaired pilot, Nobody's Watching. The comedy, which was produced for the 2005-2006 TV season, wasn't picked up for the WB's fall slate. However, you can now get a chance to check out the show (in 3 parts) by clicking here.

More than 330,000 YouTube views later, the scrapped show about a pair of regular guys who are hired to create a sitcom is picking up buzz and renewed interest from the TV networks. One of the show's creators, Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Spin City), told The New York Times that the head of NBC Entertainment wanted to take another look at the show. If "Nobody's Watching" is resuscitated, (and that's a BIG if), this could mark a huge change in the way pilots are tested. And if the show isn't picked up, at least Lawrence can take solice in the fact that people were "watching".

It is officially the 4th of July, the day we celebrate being an American by joining the Europeans in putting the date before the month. Instead of fireworks and flags, I've decided to offer up some of my favorite patriotic TV characters:

1. Homer Simpson: In his constant quest for TV, beer and sleep, Homer proves he's in touch with the American public. And who can forget one his presidential campaign slogans in 2004: "No big government, just big waist sizes."


2. Alex P. Keaton: The right-wing 80s teen from Family Ties makes this list for voicing a dissenting opinion in a family full of liberals. And who can forget his shrine to Richard Nixon?


3. Jon Stewart: The host of The Daily Show has made politics hot again by skewering less than capable policy-makers. With his dry wit and willingness to ask the tough questions, he's made TV "news" bearable.

Now it's your turn. What TV characters make you "proud to be an American"?

The World Entertainment News Network reports:

Actor Hugh O'Brian, the 81-year-old star of 1950s TV series Wyatt Earp, married for the first time at a California cemetery over the weekend. O'Brian married his girlfriend of 18 years, teacher Virginia Barber, 54. The wedding, which was described as "a wedding to die for," was held at celebrity cemetery Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. The actor said, "This is my first, and most definitely, my last trip down the aisle." Some 300 guests witnessed the ceremony at the cemetery's Hall of Crucifixion-Resurrection, according to O'Brian's publicist, Monique Moss. The Rev. Robert Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, officiated, and the couple was serenaded by close friend Debbie Reynolds.