Courteney Cox attacks her role with tooth and nail in "Cougar Town"
"Cougar Town" may be the most deliciously profane network show ever made, says Hank Stuever. And the best role Cox has had since "Friends." "Prepared to merely endure 'Cougar Town,'" he says, "I instead burst out laughing several times, watching as Jules endures one humiliation after another: writing alimony checks to her loser ex-husband; finding out that her picture on her real-estate ad serves as masturbatory material for a neighborhood boy; accompanying her younger assistant (brilliant Busy Philipps from 'Freaks and Geeks') to a nightclub where two cocktails turn Jules into a lecherous drunk."
Cox is brave simply for the opening scene // Courteney is too yucky and anti-Monica
It's hard to see Cox, with her firm body, as a lonely divorcee suffering from middle age
Bill Lawrence: Nobody would care about "Cougar Town" if it was titled "40 and Single"
Lame "Mercy" embraces every conceivable hospital stereotype
The new NBC drama is so bad it makes "Hawthorne" watchable, says Tim Goodman. "Nurses more knowledgeable than doctors? Check. Irascible patients? Check. World weary supporting cast of nurses who, despite their flaws, will save your backside in a pinch and tell you the truth when your family won't? Check. Newbie nurse graduating top of her class but unable to be helpful under duress? Check. Hot doctor complicating the life of a nurse in a troubled marriage? Check. Come on, people, we're running out of boxes here."
Everything reeks of rip-off // It's not actually that bad
Michelle Trachtenberg, with Hello Kitty top, is forced to recite terrible lines
"Eastwick" looks like an outdates wannabe combo of "9 to 5" and "Housewives"
This is the 3rd attempt to remake "The Witches of Eastwick" (the last try featured Marcia Cross) "The show looks gorgeous, invoking a picturesque, small-town Salem that practically sparkles," says Paige Wiser. "The actors are good, the writing's fine, and it's pleasant enough to watch. It's just that it all adds up to a series of pale imitations."
Where is the 4-way sex scenes from the book? // Just tasteless
"Modern Familiy" saves the family comedy
"Just when we were thinking it couldn't be done," says Mary McNamara, "ABC's 'Modern Family' has single-handedly brought the family comedy back from the dead. Astute in a way we haven't seen since, oh, I don't know, "Family Ties" or maybe 'Married . . . With Children,' 'Modern Family' is sharp, timely and fresh, complicated enough to be interesting but with a soft, sweet center because, and I'm speaking loudly so even cable channels can hear, there is nothing wrong with that."
A unique, brilliant gem among a crop of mediocre sitcoms
It's not another dreaded mockumentary // Meet the gay dads
"Modern Family" owes a debt to "Arrested Development"
Whitest Emmys in years?
Out of 39 presenters, just three were minorities. Says one member of the NAACP: "It shows a clear lack of creativity and vision in network television. In this age of President Obama, the networks are clearly on the wrong side of history. You don't see families like the Obamas on network television."
Letterman proves he's better at interviewing Obama than Sunday news shows
"Meet the Press" and George Stephanopoulos basically gave the same interview to the president. Meanwhile, David Letterman managed to "catch his subject off guard and force him to think on his feet," says Steve Kornacki, who adds: "The genius, if you can call it that, of Letterman’s approach with newsmaker guests is that he doesn’t ever try to outsmart them, or impress them with his knowledge, or corner them with gotcha questions. He takes the opposite approach, stepping back from the microscopic level at which most journalists operate and instead making broad, innocent-seeming inquiries that are more philosophical in nature—and that newsmakers like Obama never think to prepare for."
Dave has 2nd-best overnight ratings in 4 years // Why Obama would never do Conan
CBS replaces "Three Rivers" pilot
The pilot episode has been scrapped in favor of a later, and much stronger, episode.
Neil Patrick Harris lands another hosting gig
He'll guest host "It's Magic!" a celebration of magicians at the Kodak Theatre on Nov. 8.
Introducing the "How I Met Your Mother" Shame Index
Each week, Slate.com will closely examine "HIMYM's" tendency to be either really great, or really bad, or some combination of both.
"How I Met Your Mother's" Ted = Ross from "Friends"?
Remember Ross Gellar was a professor, too. As Alan Sepinwall points out, "HIMYM's" co-creators "have embraced (Ted's) inherent douchiness and have turned it into a conduit for jokes." PLUS: Check out Stripper Lily and Cobie Smulders considers herself a single mom, even though she's engaged to her baby's daddy.
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"Dancing's" ratings fall with Tom DeLay
About 17.5 million viewers watched last night's season premiere, the lowest opening audience since season one.
"House" helps Fox win season's 1st night, Leno falls further, "Big Bang" has big return
NBC, meanwhile, saw "Heroes" lose half its viewers. On CBS, "The Big Bang Theory" nearly had ratings as big as "Two and a Half Men."
Texas Tech's quirky football coach films "Friday Night Lights" cameo
Lawyer-turned-football coach Mike Leach, a good buddy of Donald Trump's whom "60 Minutes" dubbed "The Mad Scientist of Football," will play either himself or another character in a cameo he shot over the weekend while in Austin playing archrival the University of Texas, whose head coach appeared in the 1st "FNL" episode.
ESPN scolded for airing "Sorority Row" ads during college football
Why bring back memories of Ted Bundy during a "A great football game"?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers goes grey for "The Tudors"
He's currently working on the final years of King Henry VIII's life.
Heather Locklear's "Melrose Place" role revealed: She'll play Katie Cassidy's boss
They'll work together at a PR firm, in a battle of past and current vixens.
D.C. "Real Housewives" revealed?
The alleged reality housewives include one of Washington's best-dressed women and the wife of a Republican fundraiser.
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Michael Emerson wants to join his wife on "True Blood"
The "Lost" star, who is married to Carrie Preston (AKA "True Blood's" Arlene Fowler) would like to play her dad. “I would go on any Alan Ball show to do just about anything," he says. "I will be the face in the window, I will be the cab driver… I don’t want to be a vampire."
David Carradine talks about the afterlife on HBO's "Celebrity Ghost Stories"
In an eerie interview taped months before his death, Carradine says that he believes the "ghost" of his wife Annie's dead husband visited him from the couple's bedroom closet. The interview airs on Oct. 3.
Claim: Kate Gosselin broke down during her talk show pilot
"Producers flashed a picture of Kate's children on a screen and she burst into tears," a source on "Mom Logic" tells Page Six. Meanwhile, another source tells E! that Kate was too shy during filming of the pilot. PLUS: Kathy Griffin is now BFFs with Kate.
"House" season premiere was like a brilliant stand-alone feature film
It was, says Melinda Beck, "an intriguing look at madness, depression, redemption, pain – and a reminder of how, for all the medical oddities along the way, it’s emotional intelligence that has kept 'House, MD' right on the edge of absurdity without going over it, for five seasons." PLUS: How can "House" maintain its "House-ness" after this episode?
John Barrowman: "Desperate Housewives" wants to write a role for me
"I met with the creator when I was last in Los Angeles," says the "Torchwood" star. "He said he would like to write a role for me in the series. That’s as far as it is at the moment."
Next year's Emmys are expected to plunge in the ratings
NBC will host next year's awards, which means it will likely air in August to avoid "Sunday Night Football." And the last time that happened, viewership fell by 2.5 million viewers. PLUS: Visiting Emmy parties and Charles Dickens and niche shows have an Emmy stranglehold.
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"The Good Wife": The season's best new drama?
Despite arriving in the wake of the Eliot Spitzer and Mark Sanford scandals, "The Good Wife" manages to create its own spin on political scandal. "So often quality TV is defined mostly by writing," says Rob Owen. "But CBS's 'The Good Wife' is both a well-written legal drama and a terrific showcase for actress Julianna Margulies, who elevates the already-good material with her perceptive, open performance."
"Wife" gets the underbelly of politics // "Good Wife" stands above all new dramas
Too much telegraphing // "Good Wife" made Margulies look at cheating diferently
Christian Slater's "The Forgotten" is the worst new drama
"The worst new series of fall, ABC’s 'The Forgotten' calls to mind a TV show that was conceived on toilet paper, sold to drunken network executives and brought to the small screen by felons working off their court-imposed community service," says Mark A. Perigard.
So many things are wrong with "Forgotten" // Why Christian Slater came back to TV
"NCIS: Los Angeles" is really just a buddy cop show
"CBS' latest dramatic brand extension really amounts to a lazy way of promoting a buddy-cop procedural," says Brian Lowry, "with Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J as crimefighters who see a lifetime's worth of action in just the premiere. That the show was a planted spinoff from 'NCIS"' rib and signals its 'Los Angeles' locale with conspicuous beach backgrounds represents the network's determination that viewers know everything from the title, which is mostly true. O'Donnell and Cool J have credible chemistry, and it's nice to see Linda Hunt as their boss. Beyond that, no investigation is necessary to grasp the formula."
LL Cool J on landing the role: He didn't have to audition // Behind the scenes
Rocky Carroll pulls double duty // How Linda Hunt ended up on "NCIS"
It somehow works despite feeling surprisingly baroque and picturesque
"NCIS" has the TV-cop recipe down pat — it's fun to watch without being innovative
Like the original, funny banter will be a staple of "NCIS: LA,"
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Tom DeLay beats Cloris Leachman as the strangest "Dancing" star
His booty-shaking "Wild Things" performance (watch it here) was "surreal," as Carrie Ann Inaba put it. As Verne Gay points out, "Delay shook some booty, played air guitar, slid across the dance floor, and otherwise made 17 or so million viewers wonder, 'Is this the most bizarre dream I've ever had?'… In fact, the whole thing was strange – terribly, terribly strange."
Charlie Sheen leaving "Two and a Half Men"?
His contract is up, and TV's highest-paid sitcom star is threatening to leave if CBS and Warner Bros. don't come up with a good deal.
HBO miffed after being omitted from Emmy's "Put Down the Remote" song
The pay network with 99 nominations is upset that Neil Patrick Harris failed to mention HBO in his song that opened last night's awards show. PLUS: Snubbed E! confronts Neil Patrick.
Ellen defends her "Idol" judging qualifications
"I'll tell you right now, how I know I'm going to be a great judge — because I've spent my whole life being judged," she said on today's show.
"Mad Men" gets bobbleheaded
Check out the bobblehead versions of Don Draper and Joan Holloway, complete with cigarettes in their fingers.
"The Office" gives Jim & Pam their own wedding page
Wish them well at HalpertBeesly.com.
Truck begs for "Sarah Connor" movie
"Terminator: TSCC" fans haven't given up hope. They recently purchased a truck with a "Terminator" billboard to drive around L.A. asking for a movie.
FX's fantasy football drama debuts next month
"The League" premieres Oct. 29, after "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
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ABC will air fewer commercials for 1st episodes
"Cougar Town," "Modern Family" and other series premieres will contain fewer ads in effort to keep viewers from tuning out. "You hope the longer you keep them at the start of the show, the more likely they are to stick to it," says one ABC exec.
Mya will go "Dancing" after injuring her hand
A source says: "She went to grab a glass for something to drink late last night and it just broke and shattered in her hand."
Fox picks up "Glee"
The "cultural phenomenon," as Fox's entertainment president calls it, is the first pickup of the new season.
Jason Segal & Chloë Sevigny?
Could there be a "How I Met Your Mother"-"Big Love" love connection?
"30 Rock" nabs Betty White, wants Justin Timberlake
Betty White will play Betty White, according to Tina Fey, who adds that she'd like a cameo out of J.T.
Obama gets serious on Letterman
The president initially traded jokes with Dave, but "the conversation quickly turned serious," according to the NY Times. (Watch Obama walk on stage and the Obama Top 10 list.)
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Letterman gets more political — his producers lobbied Obama after Leno visit
In the wake of the Sarah Palin brouhaha, David Letterman has been "reshaping his program around a longer, more ambitious, more politically pointed monologue — the kind viewers associate more with that long-running late-night show on NBC," according to Bill Carter. He also points out that, in getting tonight's presidential guest, "the Letterman bookers have been diligent ever since in arguing for some fair play — and equal booking — for their guy."
"Reality Hell" contestant sues E! for humiliating her
Malena Brush claims that when she learned that the "Making the Band"-like reality show she had auditioned for was fake, she suffered "mental and emotional anguish, fright, horror, nervousness, grief, anxiety, worry, shock, humiliation, shame, embarrassment and fear." Her episode has yet to air.
How did "Ghost Whisperer" become a Friday night sensation?
The Jennifer Love Hewitt begins its 5th season having thrived on a night mostly abandoned by TV. Producers credit the "total engagement experience" of linking the show to the Web with keeping viewers hooked.
Chuck Lorre is no longer a hothead as he juggles "Two and a Half" and "Big Bang"
The sitcom honcho used to have a reputation for having a volatile personality and jumping from project to project. But not anymore. He's still closely involved with the two hit comedies he co-created.
Andy Griffith Museum opening in his hometown
Mount Airy, North Carolina is set to open a museum featuring the largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia in the world.
Hugh Laurie: "House" limp is damaging my body
"The show might last to series seven, eight or nine but I don't know if I will because I'm starting to lose my knees a little bit," says the "House" star. "It's a lot of hip work. There's things going badly wrong. I need to do yoga." PLUS: Tonight's "House" season premiere should earn Laurie the Emmy.
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Jeff Probst: "Amazing Race" should bow out of the Emmys after 7 straight wins
"Maybe 'Amazing Race' should do what Oprah did and pull itself out of competition," the "Survivor" host said after winning the best reality TV host for the 2nd straight year. Asked moments later if he should pull out, "Amazing" boss Bertram Van Munster said, "I'm going to discuss it with my committee here, but it's unlikely . . . . It was very intimidating to win for the seventh time."
David Hasselhoff hospitalized for alcohol poisoning
The "America's Got Talent" judge has reportedly been hooked on vodka in recent weeks.
HBO creates a "True Blood" jewelry line
The collection by designer Udi Behr includes rings, necklaces, earring and a fang-like enclosure, costing $59 to $1,295.
"Next Top Model" vs. REAL fashion modeling
Why Tyra Banks' entire show is flawed.
Many viewers can't get "Mad Men" in HD
AMC and other cable networks like Comedy Central are having troubling getting their HD channels on major providers like DirecTV and Time Warner Cable. As a result, the "Mad Men" those viewers get is murky with diffused images.
"Joe Millioniare"/"Trading Spouses" reality TV production company files for bankruptcy
Rocket Science Laboratories had run into problems after a downturn in interest in their projects.
Is anybody still watching "How I Met Your Mother" for Ted?
"HIMYM" returns tonight with more Barney and Robin, but unfortunately the show still revolves around Ted Mosby. As Ellen Gray points out, "I've come to think of The Mother as the woman who'll help transform the charmingly awkward Ted into a guy who can't ever seem to finish a story and who sounds disturbingly like Bob Saget."
Susan Boyle's visit to America will become a documentary
Film crews spent last week documenting how the "Britain's Got Talent" star conquered the United States.
Chris Sligh warns "Idol" Top 10: "No one will care about you" after the tour
"Those fans who’ve been asking for your autograph all tour long — 98 percent of them don’t give a flying poo about you once next season of ‘Idol’ starts," he writes in a lengthy blog rant. "In other words, your days of being a star are over. But that’s all right — so are mine.”
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This year's Emmys will be a rerun of last year's
With no suspense this year — "Mad Men" and "30 Rock" are winning big! — CBS is counting on the element of surprise to keep viewers from switching to NBC to watch the Dallas Cowboys play for the first regular game in their $1.2 billion new stadium. Says Lisa de Moraes: "The trophy show that loves redundancy is expected to really knock itself out this year. Practically everyone who has weighed in on the subject — online bookies, television industry navel gazers, TV critics, you name it — expects this year's ceremony to play like a rerun of last year's. Which is not to say this year's Emmy broadcast won't be worth watching. It'll be a doozy."
Why won't HBO and AMC bench their shows on Emmy night?
Neil Patrick Harris asks Ryan Seacrest for some advice // Hosting is tricky
Justin Timberlake will present // Handicapping the Emmys
"Weekend Update Thursday" starts off bumpy — Darrell Hammond is back!
Lorne Michaels used "bumpy" to describe last night's return, though the Joe Wilson sketch and a "WU" glitch turned out to bolster the show. Meanwhile, Darrell Hammond — whom cast members bade farewell to during last season's finale — is back for likely the rest of the season. "I like having him here and I think he's great on the show," says Michaels, who adds that he is "not very good at goodbyes."
Kate Gosselin tells Kathy Griffin: Your impersonation of me was "awesome"
On this morning's "View," Kate "didn't rise to the bait" of Griffin's Jimmy Kimmel sketch, says Lisa de Moraes, but the episode wasn't without fireworks. PLUS: Kathy wears Tyra's weave.
Kate Gosselin's talk show tapes Sunday with Paula Deen, Rene Syler, Bob Woodruff's wife
Gosselin will join the trio on Sunday to tape a pilot for a "View"-like talk show from the perspective of working moms. PLUS: Why Kate will fail as a talk show host.
Paula Abdul mocks Ellen DeGeneres
Check her out in a blonde wig at the "VH1 Divas Live" concert. PLUS: Ellen calls Paula "hilarious. You’ve left me some big shoes to fill."
Jay Leno drops to 8.5 million, "Community" retains "Office" viewers
The 4th outing of "The Jay Leno Show" sank to to its lowest numbers Thursday, with a repeat of "The Mentalist" edging it out in the ratings. "Survivor" brought in 11.5 million, but "SNL" disappointed with only 5.7 million viewers.
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"Survivor's" Russell may be evil, but he's also tiresome and unwatchable
Russell might prove to be so loathsome he could be a detriment to the this season of "Survivor," says Leslie Gray Street. "I blame (Richard) Hatch, and Jonny Fairplay, and stupid crazy Coach, for what we’re stuck with this year – Russell, who apparently has set out to be the meanest, baddest “Survivor” EVER. He might be the meanest, but his intention, as he put it, to show how easy it is to win the game by turning everyone against each other, is tiresome because it’s going to be hard to watch the game without focusing on his shenanigans."
Russell is so vile he actually takes away from the show
Jeff Probst on Russell: "A new star has most definitely been born"
Cliffhanging "FlashForward" has become extremely secretive
As the Wall Street Journal reports, "FlashForward" is making full use of cliffhangers. But to do that, everything has to be secretive. As The journal notes, "To guard plot secrets, each "FlashForward" script has a made-up title and is watermarked so that if a page gets into the wrong hands producers can trace it to the source. Actors, cast members and producers are referred to by code names that can change weekly." PLUS: Watch the first 18 minutes of "FlashForward" on Hulu.
Rachael Ray teaches Jimmy Kimmel how to shoplift
It's "Cooking on a Budget with Rachael Ray."
Bob Saget will return to co-host "America's Funniest Home Videos" for 1 night
He and Tom Bergeron will look back at the best home videos of the past two decades.
Lisa Ling returning to "The View" as guest co-host
She'll fill in for Elisabeth Hasselbeck on October 5 and 6.
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It's the end of the line for "Guiding Light"
After 57 years, TV's longest-running TV soap ends its run today. "It's heartbreaking," says one fan, a teacher who has been watching for 30 years. "Come Monday morning, there is going to be this enormous void." Another "Guiding Light" fan adds: “It’s just a little piece of being back in my grandmother’s living room."
Ira Glass: "This American Life" is finished on Showtime
"I don't know if I can say this yet, but we've asked to be taken off of television," says the public radio host.
"Dancing" Tom DeLay has to constantly ice his foot, which is "about to break"
The pre-stress fracture DeLay described means, basically, that "the bone is about to break" says DeLay. So he has to ice his foot for 20 minutes after each hour of rehearsal, then ice it again all evening.
Man arrested for assault after trying to break into Ryan Seacrest's car
Seacrest was in the midst of a visit to the Children's Hospital of Orange County when Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr., 25, allegedly tried to break into Seacrest's car. A security guard who tried to stop him was allegedly choked and nearly became unconscious.
Why "Fringe" is better than "The X-Files"
Listing 10 reasons, Raina Kelley contends that "already 'Fringe' is 10 million times better than 'The X-Files." Why? Because "there’s a lot more racial diversity in 'Fringe" and "because 'Fringe' actually knows where it’s storylines are going, it doesn’t rely on filler episodes to distract you from the fact that you’re being sold a bag of nothing."
"Fringe" gives shout-out to "X-Files" // "Fringe" misrepresented head trauma
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"Curb Your Enthusiasm" kicks off its best — and most offensive — season yet
"The more people I can offend, the better," Larry David likes to say. "If that is the standard," says David Zurawik, "then Sunday's premiere of the seventh season of this HBO comedy is the best. Right out of the box, David is absolutely pushing the limits of TV comedy on issues of race, gender, coarse language, mental illness and physical disease. You don't realize how incredibly edgy David's work on HBO is until you try to write about it in a family newspaper and suddenly discover that you can barely start to describe situations and setups, let alone dialogue and punch lines."
"Seinfeld" reunion somehow works // Jeff Garlin: We got to film on the "Seinfeld" set
Cheryl Hines: We'll see a different Cheryl // Other "Seinfeld" characters will return
"Bored to Death" lives up to its name
Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis are wasted in this HBO series that is "so clearly pleased with itself," says Robert Bianco. "Sure, you could make the easy pun on 'Bored to Death's' name, but that would be as indolent, indulgent and humor-free as the show itself," he says.
It's a really satisfying hour of Comic Neurosis TV // The fall's best new show
Ted Danson on "Death" // "I love that we do silly things"
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The CW has talked the 47-year-old Locklear into reprising her role as Amanda Woodward, starting on Nov. 17, to boost ratings after a bad start. "We're ecstatic to have the chance to bring Amanda Woodward back to Melrose Place," the show's executive producers said in a statement. "Heather's involvement in the show is something we've been working on for some time as we couldn't imagine creating and producing this show without the iconic character's inclusion."
