Friday, February 12, 2010

February 12, 2010

Dick Ebersol: More than 80% of West Coasters want tape-delayed Olympics
"They want to get home and watch them, and that's why there's a delay on the West Coast," says the NBC exec.


Jimmy Fallon's "Lost" parody

Watch the nine-minute debut of "Late."


Octomom plays Jimmy Kimmel's "Valentine's Dating Game"

Which bachelor will Nadya Suleman surprise/select? (Watch Part 2) PLUS: Remember Kimmel's dead-on Octomom impression?


Kaley Cuoco covers Maxim

The "Big Bang Theory" star is "the hottest woman on TV," the magazine proclaims.


Madonna joins Jerry Seinfeld's "The Marriage Ref"

Other celebrity judges include Sarah Silverman, Larry David and Martin Short.


Oprah reveals unseen photos from the Leno-Letterman ad shoot

"Both of them cracking me up," she says of the behind the scenes pics.


Luger's death was streamed live on Canada's CTV Web site

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili's accident can be seen here.


"Criminal Minds" spinoff casts female lead

Actess Beau Garrett will star opposite Forest Whitaker.


Paula Abdul confirms she's "doing a TV show"

But she wouldn't say if she's doing "The X Factor" with Simon Cowell. "I’m going back to doing some teaching on television in that kind of capacity," she says. "And what else can I tell you? I might be doing something with the Laker Girls."


National Geo goes "Inside Polygamy" for Valentine's Day

The cable network will delve into the lives of a fundamentalist Mormon polygamist community in British Columbia this Sunday.


"Vampire Diaries" adds a bad-ass vamp named Fredereick

The character will be a recurring one, played by Stephen Martines from "The Closer."

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February 12, 2010

NBC's Stephen Colbert is totally committed to the Winter Olympics
Colbert is not only sponsoring the speedskating team, but he'll serve as a reporter for the Peacock's coverage. PLUS: Check out the official Colbert Olympic poster.


WWE plans to launch its own network next year

Vince McMahon says of his planned WWE cable network: "I would hope a year-and-a-half from now we would be up and running. We think there is a tremendous opportunity for us out there and quite frankly if things happen as we hope they will happen it will be a really big game changer for the WWE."


Can NBC get big Olympic ratings without a popular figure skater?

There's nobody this year to match the popularity of Michelle Kwan or Nancy Kerrigan. PLUS: Advice for NBC.


"Sesame Street's" Susan OK after getting hit by a car

Loretta Long narrowly escaped serious injury while walking near her New Jersey home this week. She ended up suffering a fractured leg and head injuries.


TLC celebrating Valentine's Day with "Sextistics"

A tour through the science and statistics of romantic attraction.


Craig Ferguson: Our budget is probably smaller than Carson Daly's

"We have no promotion," says the "Late Late" host, "we've got no money — it's the cheapest budget of any of the late-night shows — probably Carson Daly's too. We get nothing. But we do have a huge advantage in that they let us do what we want. And I would take that trade."

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February 12, 2010

Which TV shows could be canceled?
"Chuck" and "Heroes" are on the bubble, as always. But "24" is also facing uncertainty.


Why can't NBC show the Olympics live to West Coasters?

Vancouver, after all, is in the Pacific time zone.


Ellen is poised to take Oprah's crown as queen of daytime

Research already shows that Ellen and Oprah are neck and neck in terms of popularity.


Alec Baldwin's photographer clash: Watch the video

Also, check out more photos from yesterday's breakdown.


Sherri Shepard's ex-husband demands she stop mentioning him on "The View"

He writes in a letter: "Though I believe the high road is typically the best course of action, it's time that I take the opportunity to say, ‘Enough is enough!’"


"HIMYM": It's "Friends" meets addiction theory!

Psychology Today breaks down the appeal of "How I Met Your Mother."

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February 12, 2010

"Survivor" proves that villains are more interesting than heroes
The villain segments of last night's two-hour premiere were far more compelling than the hero segments, says James Poniewozik. But that could change, he says, as "some of the heroes are going to begin to act anti-heroic, making alliances and going cloak-and-dagger. In fact, the whole classification of heroes and villains on this show is tricky … Maybe being a villain on Survivor simply means not being boring. And as things go on, I suspect we'll start to see what a fine line there is between the angels and the fallen angels."
Watching Sugar flirt badly was brutal // Villains have unfair advantage over heroes
Jeff Probst on the badass challenge and New Zealand Air Force's cooperation
About 14.2 million viewers tuned in, up 5% from last spring


"Parks and Rec" says: "Stay away from John Mayer"

Leslie Knope's quote was really funny considering that it was taped weeks ago, before Mayer's Playboy interview was released. PLUS: Check out Tom Haverford and Park Ranger Andy Samberg and why "Parks" has become better than "The Office" and "30 Rock."


How will geography-challenged Caite Upton deal with "Amazing Race"?

The former Miss South Carolina Teen USA, whose YouTube has attracted nearly 40 million views, thinks people will underestimate her on the CBS reality competition.


"Tyrannosaurus Sex" will use CGI to show how dinosaurs got it on

How did the Stegosaurus practice safe sex with those deadly plates and spikes? The Discovery Channel Valentine's special will answer all questions, using state-of-the-art CGI animation.


Ricky Gervais: I'm "blown away" that Jerry Seinfeld likes me!

Gervais found it a "thrill" to work on Seinfeld's "The Marriage Ref." Says Gervais: "I was blown away with all the amazingly nice things he had to say about 'The Office' and 'Extras' and my stand up – I pointed out that my ambition was to one day be even nearly as good as him, it was amazing."


BBC America's "Survivors" debuts 2 days after CBS' "Survivor"

The BBC drama (watch the trailer) follows a killer virus that strikes and England and the whole of Europe.


HBO's "How to Make It in America" is more entertaining than actually funny

"You're not going to burst out laughing at anything," Tim Goodman says of the "Entourage"-esque series from Mark Wahlberg, "but there are plenty of comic moments. Its arrival only reinforces that many cable series made as half-hour comedies – from "Weeds" to "United States of Tara" to "Hung" – are essentially half-hour dramas."
Characters are cyphers // Shines light on NYC's pushy striver generation

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ODDS & ENDS

February 12, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day from "Jersey Shore" and "Lost" // "Naked" Snooki photo released

DirecTV sues Dish over "Why Pay More" ad

What is up with CBS' man crush on Alex O'Loughlin?

Lauren Conrad's 2nd book is No. 1 on the NY Times bestseller list

From "Fallin'" to "She Bangs": Songs forever ruined by "American Idol"

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]