September 2010

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" baby is born
Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney welcomed Axel Lee McElhenney on Wednesday. I went into labor at the Phillies/Dodgers game on Tuesday night," says Olsen.

"Idol" adds Los Angeles to the audition cities
There were so many auditioners in six cities that "Idol" decided to add a 7th.

Letterman blackmailer can attend the News Emmys thanks to early release
Robert "Joe" Halderman is up for an Emmy on Sept. 27 for his work on "48 Hours."

Jimmy Kimmel transforms into clay for "Glenn Martin, DDS"
Watch the Clay Kimmel with his nemesis, Glenn Martin.

Paul Shaffer goes "Running Wilde"
Watch his profane cameo on the Fox comedy.

Watch Ryan Seacrest & Larry King sing Lady Gaga
They attempted a duet of "Poker Face" this morning.

Time Warner strikes deal with Disney
As a result, ESPN and Disney Channel won't be blacked out for TW customers.

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Where are the "90210" stars now? Gabrielle Carteris is almost 50
In honor of "90210" Day, The Hollywood Reporter catches us up with the "90210" alums. Carteris — who is older than President Obama — will become the first West Beverly High alum to turn the Big 5-0, on January 2nd. Meanwhile, most of the other "Beverly Hills 90210" alumni haven't shied away from the spotlight. Many have appeared on "Dancing with the Stars."
Watch "Gossip Girl" credits, "Beverly Hills 90210"-style
Don Draper = Dylan: "90210" characters and "Mad Men" counterparts
6 memorable moments // Remembering "90210" fashion

ABC buys "The River" from the director of "Paranormal Acitivity"
Oren Peli is poised for primetime with a drama that takes his "Paranormal" style and applies it to a mysterious river.

NBC finally puts the "Glee" Emmy opener online
Following criticism from Jimmy Fallon, NBC apparently forked over the money for the rights to Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run."

"Lie to Me" recruits Tricia Helfer to romance Tim Roth
The "Battlestar" babe will guest on Season 3 episode this fall.

"The Bachelor's" Vienna shows off her short hair
"No more extensions," she said on Twitter.

Ellen Pompeo denies having 6 toes
The "Grey's Anatomy" star wants to put to rest rumors stemming from a bogus photo of her foot that surfaced on the web.

"Mad Men's" Rich Sommer welcomes a son
Patrick Ryan Sommer was born on Tuesday, joining big sister Beatrice.

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Report: Jennifer Lopez's "Idol" deal is all but done
The deal could be completed as early as next week, according to TMZ. Says the website, "Sources connected to the negotiations tell TMZ … contrary to some news reports … there has been no drama and no diva demands.  As one source puts it, "It's been typical negotiating."

Martha Stewart wants to be the new Barbara Walters
In promoting her new series of Hallmark Channel interview specials, Martha said: "My favorite interviewers are Larry King (and) Barbara Walters, both of whom are kind of retiring … "Who's going to take their place as the serious, great interviewer? I'm throwing my name in there." Too bad, though, that Walters isn't retiring yet.

Ian Ziering: CW dropped the ball on "90210" Day
"About six or seven months ago, I had my entire cast together," says the former "Beverly Hills "90210" star. "I wanted to put together a reunion special to run on this day ('9/02/10') and the CW dropped the ball."

Animal Planet employee: I thought of the "Grey's" season finale during hostage crisis
Grace Suriel, who works in marketing for the cable channel, was also reminded of "24" and "Cheers" during and after the Discovery Channel was under siege by a crazed gunman. PLUS: Discovery provides counselors, gives Friday off to staffers.

Amazon taking on Apple, slashing TV downloads to 99 cents
Instead of renting "Glee" from Apple, you can download an episode for the same price at Amazon.

To promote "Hellcats," CW will try to break the cheerleading world record
On Saturday in Texas, the CW is organizing the "Largest Cheerleading Dance" at a single venue.

Bristol Palin is overshadowing all the other "Dancing" stars
It is Bristol, who is less talented than The Situation and David Hasselhoff, who is getting most of the publicity this season. As Mary McNamara notes, "the real problem is that her presence has utterly detracted from the participants who otherwise would be getting a lot of ink right now. People who are much more deserving of a career boost, even via a reality dance competition that would sign Bristol Palin."
Sarah Palin: Bristol is no "diva" // Pic: Bristol dancing //  Where's Julianne Hough?
Joel McHale and Tim Allen: We were never asked to join "Dancing"
Did "Dancing" go overboard with too many reality stars?
Claim: The Hoff crushing on partner // Situation has yet to even speak to his partner
Look at Jennifer Grey "Dancing" // Mark Ballas visits "Melissa & Joey"

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After Emmy victory, ABC renews "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution"

Wacky Paula Abdul makes a comeback thanks to her new YouTube channel

Why did Rolling Stone put "Glee's" Chris Colfer in a leather gay bar?

Watch Chuck Norris in an NRA "Trigger the Vote" ad

"Grey's Anatomy" is done with the "Mc"-names, says Shonda Rhimes

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

Is "SNL" hiring a black man?
Stand-up comedian Jay Pharoah — a 22-year-old who can do more than 75 impressions, including  Chris Rock and Orlando Bloom — is expected to become the 4th all-new "SNL" cast member, according to The Comc's Comic. Pharoah's hiring would be significant since "SNL" hasn't added a black cast member in, well, forever. (Keenan Thompson joined the cast in 2003.) In fact, "SNL" was criticized for not having a black man portray Obama — "Community" star Donald Glover was reportedly up for the part.

Letterman extortionist released from jail
Robert "Joe" Halderman was released from Rikers Island this morning after  serving four months of his six-month sentence. He was released on good behavior.

Sarah McLachlan will perform on "Life Unexpected"
McLachlan will be part of the "One Tree Hill" crossover episode, as will "Life Unexpected" theme song singer Rain Perry. PLUS: Watch "Life" Season 2 trailer.

Will T.I. have to go on another "Road to Redemption" after his arrest?
The rapper and MTV star and his wife Tameka Cottle were arrested this morning after police smelled marijuana in his car.

Happy "90210" day!
Today, 9-02-10, is an historic day that will not happen for many years. To mark the occasion, watch "90210" clips and more clips.

Discovery gunman tried pitching reality shows to the cable channel
One of the rejected James Jay Lee proposals included an environmental show called "Race to Save the Planet."

Next up for Alyssa Milano: A Lifetime movie
The "Romantically Challenged" star will join Eric Winter playing a bride in "Sundays at Tiffany's."

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Bryan Cranston will host "SNL"
"Breaking Bad's" creator had always wondered why the three-time Emmy winner has never been asked to host "Saturday Night Live." Now, Cranston will get his chance on Oct. 2nd.

"Top Chef": All-Stars in NYC?
According to Eater NY, next season returns to New York with familiar faces like  Spike Mendelsohn, Angelo Sosa and Tiffany Derry.

"The Sandman" may become a TV series
Warner Bros. TV is hoping that "Supernatural" creator Eric Kripke will sign up to bring Neil Gaman's iconic comic book series to the small screen.

"Glee" traveling to NYC for Nationals
"Empire State of Mind" will be the theme as the "Gleeks" travel to the Big Apple in Season 2. PLUS: Was Britney Spears a "Glee" diva?

Syfy going to "Neverland" for a 4-hour Peter Pan prequel
The writer who reimagined "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice in Wonderland" with "Tin Man" and "Alice" is tackling an original prequel of Peter Pan.

Conan's TBS set will have a theatrical theme — yes, he'll sit behind a desk
The president of the TV Academy, John Shaffner, is, after the Emmys, busy designing a set that he says willbe keeping with the theme of the "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television" tour. Shaffner is particularly excited about Conan's guest chair, which will be firm and deep.

"Buffy's" Nicholas Brendon gets a "Private Practice" guest shot
Shonda Rhimes, a diehard "Buffy" fan, is giving Brendon some work amid his criminal problems.

George Takei bound for "Big Bang"
The former "Star Trek" star will cameo on the 4th episode of the season.

CBS and NBC want no part in AppleTV
Neither, apparently, does HBO or Showtime, as well as Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures. In fact, some producers fear that AppleTV will cut into TV DVD profits.

Lifetime's "Army Wives" spinoff is dead
Gabrielle Union was to play an Atlanta detective in the backdoor pilot, which was marred by a controversy over a producer's racial slur.

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Police kill Discovery Channel suspect, hostages safe
James Jay Lee, 43, was shot dead this afternoon and the three hostages he held are safe after a four-hour standoff at Discover headquarters. NBC News reports that at least one explosive device went off after they shot Lee, but it's unclear if he left any other explosive devices in the building.

Harvey Keitel for "The Office"?
He's exec producer Paul Leiberstein's dream replacement for Steve Carell, and the former "Life on Mars" star is "doing TV now."

"Memphis Beat" renewed
The TNT Jason Lee drama has averaged a solid 4.5 million viewers.

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Armed gunman storms Discovery Channel and takes at least one hostage
Developing situation: Silver Spring, Maryland police say the man has an issue with the Discovery Networks, and may have an explosive device strapped to his body. Here's a photo of the gunman from above. UPDATE: The alleged gunman is James Jay Lee, who has been protesting outside of Discovery headquarters for years and has been arrested before — read his website.

Steve Jobs unveils $99 AppleTV with 99-cent TV rentals
To start off with, you'll be able to rent any episode from ABC or Fox's lineup. In making the AppleTV announcement, Jobs demonstrated how he could easily rent a "Glee" episode.

AMC gives "The Walking Dead" a 2nd season, before its premiere
Producer/Director Frank Darabont reveals his plans for the 2nd season, and says filming will begin in February.

"No Ordinary Family" gets Cybill Shepherd to play Julie Benz's mom
Shepherd will appear in an episode this fall with a TV hubby, Bruce McGill.

Jimmy Fallon ticked off NBC didn't pay for Web rights to Emmy "Glee" opener
The Bruce Springsteen number is all over YouTube, but not NBC.com because the Peacock didn't pay for the online rights to Springsteen. "That could have been worth 500,000 hits on NBC.com," says Fallon, who had trouble linking to the video yesterday on his Twitter feed. "People are looking for it. We worked so hard on it and it's our own network, and it's a good commercial for our network. It's so simple, just pay for it."

Claim: Jon Gosselin tried to extort Kate
Jon's ex Hailey Glassman says he threatened to report Kate to child protective services unless she gave him $50,000 or $100,000. Jon, she says, tried to use their daughter Mady's injury to bolster his claim. PLUS: Jon is denying the accusation.

"Dancing" odds: Brandy to win, Carol Brady will be out first
Bodog has also pegged Jennifer Grey as 2nd favorite to win.

HBO renews "Hung" despite lower ratings
Ratings are down this season, but HBO has ordered a 2nd season anyway.

Fox orders Jamie Foxx sketch comedy for midseason
"The Jamie Foxx Project" will be a current version of "In Living Color."

"Glee" hooks up with American Express for charity
Starting tonight, "Glee" stars will appear in ads promoting the credit card company's Members Project social action initiative.

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Stephen Colbert fans want their own Glenn Beck-style rally

Thursday is 9/02/10, or "90210" Day

J.J. Abrams shopping a drama related to "Alcatraz"

"Mad Men": Behind the scenes with Rolling Stone // "Mad Men" books

Report Simon Cowell offers Katy Perry "X Factor" gig

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

"Dancing with the Stars" partners revealed
The Situation gets Katrina Smirnoff, Jennifer Grey gets Derek Hough and David Hasselhoff will be partnered with Kym Johnson.

Condoleezza Rice, Facebook's founder, Sylvester Stallone turned down "Dancing"
Joel McHale, Drew Carey, Suzanne Somers, Richard Branson and Tim Allen were also contacted by producers. PLUS: "Dancing" divas: Bristol Palin? Michael Bolton?

"Amazing Race" teams revealed
They include a pair of Jewelry Television hosts, Ivy League a cappella singers and a mother and daughter reunited 20 years after giving her up for adoption. (watch the video)

ABC and Fox sign up for 99-cent TV show rentals on iTunes
Apple will announce today that Disney and Fox are on board its TV rental plan. PLUS: Amazon's subscription service will deliver TV shows over the Web.

Shaq takes over "Jimmy Kimmel Live"
Watch his "Shaq Vs." monologue dissing of Kimmel from last night's show.

Coming to BET: A NASCAR reality show
"Changing Lanes" will pit 30 minority drivers against each other in an attempt to increase the diversity of NASCAR fans.

HBO selling "True Blood" figurines
But only for Sookie, Bill and Eric.

NBC taps "Battlestar's" Ronald D. Moore to make an "adult Harry Potter"
Moore's new drama series will be set in the world of magic.

Teresa Giudice: Give me a raise or I'll quit "Real Housewives"
The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star wants her salary doubled, according to TMZ, and a slice of DVD and merchandise sales.

"Full House's" Jodie Sweetin gives birth to her 2nd daughter
Sweetin, now 28, and her boyfriend welcomed Beatrix Carlin on Tuesday. Beatrix joins 2-year-old Zole.

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"Conan" is the name of Conan's new TBS show
"Simple, pure, like the man himself," Conan O'Brien says in a YouTube video announcing the "Conan" name, which he had to get legal clearance to use because it's owned by the Conan the Barbarian franchise. Conan adds that "I wanted one word that captured my essence, and 'Oprah' was already taken."