Monday, November 9, 2009

Letterman's alleged extortionist won't accept plea deal, has raised $100K for his defense
Robert Joe Halderman wants to see his case go all the way to trial, where all the messy details will be revealed.

Scavenger hunt puts "The Simpsons" on nearly every Fox show this week
Every Fox show — except "Glee" — will either name-drop "Simpson" characters or showcase licensed products.

Laurence Fishburne: "CSI" trilogy isn't a "crossover"
"I’m calling it the ‘triple crown,'" Fishburne says of his appearance on all three "CSIs" this week, starting tonight with Miami. “I don’t like the cross-pollination. These are three really good shows. People love them; they’ve been successful now for a long time.”

Comedy Central responds to "South Park's" GLAAD criticsm
"This particular episode of the show has been both criticized and applauded within the gay and lesbian community," the cable channel says of permitting an anti-gay slur to be used.

Edited "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is coming to basic cable
TV Land and the TV Guide Network have agreed to air the Larry David Comedy, months before it debuts on WGN. Episodes will be edited for naughtiness.

Tiffani Thiessen is pregnant
The "White Collar" star and "Saved by the Bell" alum is due in May.

"Two and a Half Men's" half man mulls quitting acting
"I don't know what I'm going to take or where I'm going to go," says 16-year-old Angus T. Jones, who is planning to go to college. "I'm not really sure," he says. "I don't really know if I want to do acting as a career. I really don't know what I want to do yet."

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Dear "SNL": Until you hire black women, stop featuring them in sketches!
"Keenan Thompson in a dress is old," says Leslie Gray Streeter. "And it’s insulting. Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson don’t look like  men. If women of color are prominent enough to be parodied, they’re prominent enough to be employed. On a related note – I noticed that in 'The View' sketch, Sherri Sheppard was supposedly away. Is that because you ran out of black men to put in dresses?"

Taylor Swift saves "SNL's" lackluster season
The singer proved that she has comedy chops, but should she have gone for the jugular? PLUS: "SNL" spoofs "Twilight" with Frankenstein and Swift does Kate Gosselin.

Can the Parents TV Council help boost "Gossip Girl's" ratings?
Tonight's threesome had gone largely unnoticed for the declining CW drama — that is, until the conservative PTC stepped in to "promote" tonight's show. Meanwhile, CW affiliates and advertisers have stuck with "Gossip Girl." PLUS: TV's Top 3-ways.

Ben McKenzie dressed as Jay Leno for Halloween
The "Southland" star tells Ryan Seacrest: "He kind of canceled our show." (MP3 link)

"The Prisoner" to combat DVR use
AMC will roll out "podbusters" to prevent viewers from skipping ads.

Why does NBC seem to despite being a brodcast network?
Under Jeff Zucker's leadership, the Peacock has become a symbol of the death of ambition.

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Wandy Sykes opens with more misses than hits
Where was the relaxed good humor shown in her comedy specials. What we got instead, says Robert Bianco, was "a strained, strident hour that seemed underfunded and, despite all the time put into it, underrehearsed, as if someone thought it could run on raunch and righteous anger alone."
Monologue worked, sidekick didn't // Wanda opens with better-than-"Mad TV" ratings

"Project Runway" has felt practically scripted this season
Add to that boring contestants, and you can see why this season has been a disappointment.

"Californication" daughter isn't allowed to watch the entire show
Madeleine Martin, 16, who fast-forwards through all the raunchy stuff when they watch the show together.

Ryan Seacrest is giving 1 town a mini-"Idol" concert
Featuring Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta.

J.J. Abrams: Fox is "insanely supportive" of "Fringe" despite lower raings
“But given that we’re on one of the hardest (nights) on television, we’re just focusing on making the best show we possibly can,” he says. “What else can we do?”

George Lopez aspires to be the next Arsenio, starting tonight
"Look," Lopez says of his new TBS show "Lopez Tonight, "I was on 'Arsenio' 16 times 20 years ago. I've talked to Arsenio about this show," Lopez said. "It's been 20 years since Arsenio has been on … and it's time to take that thing and use that as a template and then move it to the next level." PLUS: Lopez taped Obama bit during the campaign.

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NBC Universal could be sold for $30 billion

Secretary of the Navy to make an "NCIS" cameo

Susan Boyle apparently doesn't know Sharon Osbourne mocked her

Disney Channel picks up a 2nd "JONAS" Brothers season

Is Paula Abdul dating Arsenio Hall?

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

"Mad Men" ends Season 3 with a fist-pumping finale
"I mean, come on," says Tim Goodman, "that was a gloriously fast-driven episode that brought both joy and emotional pay-off to everyone who has ground through the machinations of Don and Betty Draper this season. In fact, the finale was about as close to a full-on fist-pumper as any episode that "Mad Men" has ever aired. I can't recall an episode in this series where I've paused the TV to let out a pent-up whoop of exaltation. This was a beautiful, rewarding mix of forward movement – Don, Roger, Bert and Lane conspiring to start their own agency as Sterling Cooper is sold out from underneath them – and the emotional angst of Don and Betty splitting in half."
Next season: It's "Mad Men: New and Improved!" // Are Don's daddy issues dead?
Why end the season with Roy Orbison's "Shahadaroba"? // Where will Bert fit in?
A rewarding finale, sets up all sorts of great storylines for Season 4
Connie Hilton was the season's Macguffin // Don lost one family, gained another
Draper is stripped bare // Was hitting reset the right thing to do?
Q&A with Jon Hamm // Everything Don said in Season 3 // Roger Sterling's 1-liners

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