TVSquad

• At 8, NBC has more U.S. Olympic Trials.
• TNT has the Sprint Cup: Coke Zero 400 race at 8.
• Disney has a new Life with Derek at 8, followed by a new Cory in the House.
• TCM has the original 3:10 To Yuma at 8.
• Also at 8: Versus has stage one of The Tour de France.
• At 9, FOX has a new America's Most Wanted.
• CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Divine Design.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Bleach, then new episodes of Death Note, Code Geass, and Shin Chan.

Check your local TV listings for more.

How much of Swingtown is real and how much is pure fiction? According to Mike Kelley, Swingtown's creator, there are elements in the show that come right from his childhood memories of growing up on the North Shore, a trendy suburb of Chicago. But the sex and the swinging? That's mostly creative license.

So were there really sex parties and swinging in the Kelley home? "You know, it comes from imagination, for the most part."

Inspired by 1976, the era of women's liberation, disco-dancing, the end of the Vietnam War, and sexual freedom thanks to the pill and no AIDS, Kelley balances the fantastic elements with nostalgia.

The concept of network slogans are coming back. NBC has started a new campaign with little advance fanfare asking viewers to "Chime In" to the network. This follows a similar recent strategic move by ABC when they asked viewers to "Start Here".

In the age of viral marketing, there has been little evidence of this move by NBC. It is not on NBC website nor are there any major campaigns promoting it.

As we are in the midst of a long July 4th weekend, I thought it would be a good time to talk about a cartoon that combined an animated singing group with a bit of American history. I speak about The U.S. of Archie. Premiering during the 1974-75 season, this Saturday morning cartoon not only continued the long-running Archie franchise on television, but it also grabbed onto the coattails of the upcoming American Bicentennial.

U.S. of Archie featured Archie Andrews, Reggie, Jughead, Betty Veronica, and the rest of the kids from Riverdale High as they re-enacted many famous events from American history. Some of the topics covered during the series were the Underground Railroad, the Gold Rush, the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, and the invention of the telephone, Plenty of historical figures were featured, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Teddy Roosevelt.

A lot of M*A*S*H fans were upset when Wayne Rogers left his role of Trapper John on the CBS show. Many thought he wouldn't have the success he had on the show and others just missed the character (he was replaced by Mike Farrell's B.J. Hunnicutt). He went on to many guest roles and a short-lived, 1976 private eye series I liked, City of Angels. But he actually made most of his money over the past 30 years from smart financial investments. So much so that he's now a commentator on the FOX Business Network. His recent guest was his former co-star Alan Alda.

The two talk about several things in the first video, including Alda's new movie (Diminished Capacity), memory loss, Alda's award nominations, and their days on M*A*S*H. In the second video, Alda sticks around for a discussion with an expert on shows that are actually good for you, and two of those shows are shows that Alda starred in (M*A*S*H and The West Wing).

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Don't Forget the Lyrics, Family Court and other new shows.

So Shannen may be coming to the new 90210, and Jennie is definitely in the cast, and Tori will miss the first few episodes because she just had a baby, but generally speaking, there's been lots of buzz and interest in the upcoming, 2008 version of Beverly Hills 90210.

While CW gears up for the new, SOAPNet is happy to celebrate the old.

On Saturday, July 26th, SOAPNet will glory in the 50 hottest moments of the original Fox series. From 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., ET/PT, three beach-oriented episodes of the show will be shown back-to-back-to-back, with six interstitials that will reveal from 1-50, the hottest "moments" in BH 90210 history.

You may or may not be watching Wheel of Fortune right now since its currently in repeats. I mean, it's not as fun to watch these shows when you already know what the answers to the puzzles are. But, I digress. If you have been watching this top-rated syndicated game show over the last week or so, you'll know about the big thing that is coming up for the 2008-09 season. And, when I mean big thing I really mean one million big things.

Next season, Wheel will join the ranks of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Million Dollar Password, and Million Dollar Naked Concentration (copyright me...don't make me come after you) by offering a million dollar cash prize. It won't be a part of the regular game, though. According to the promotions it will be part of the Million Dollar Bonus Round. This jump to a seven-figure cash prize is the biggest for Wheel since going from $25,000 to $100,000 as the premium cash total.

So, if you are interested, go ahead and register to be a contestant right now at the official Wheel of Fortune site. Don't dawdle, because the 26th season of Wheel (35th overall since premiering on NBC) begins in September.

Amid controversy and the threat of certain world leaders boycotting the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the word came out yesterday that President George W. Bush would attend the opening ceremonies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this is good news for NBC, and the companies that have bought advertising for the Games.

While I can see how a boycott based on human rights abuses in China and Tibet would be a serious problem for the network -- and it still may lose viewers who choose to individually tune out rather than give positive sanction to China's misdeeds by watching -- I don't see how NBC can think a Bush appearance will bolster ratings.

Here's who's on the late night shows tonight.

• Charlie Rose: David McCullough
• The Late Show with David Letterman: America Ferrera, Russell Brand, and Terry Fator (repeat)
• Jay Leno: Laura and Jenna Bush, David Cook, and Tristan Prettyman (repeat)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Mike Myers, Paul Pierce, and The All For Nuts (repeat)
• Tavis Smiley: Lee A. Daniels and Eric Liu
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Matthew Broderick, Michelle Monaghan, and Brian Turner (repeat)
• The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Hugh Laurie and Michael Starr (repeat)
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Penn & Teller and Katy Perry (repeat)

• Sci-Fi has a Twilight Zone marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Dance Machine, followed by new episodes of Duel and 20/20.
• NBC has more U.S. Olympic Trials at 8, then the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular and a new Dateline.
• PBS has A Capitol Fourth at 8.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• At 9, VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever.
• At 10, CBS has the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

I know fans of So You Think You Can Dance have noticed that one of the best choreographers from show is absent this season. We know why Shane Sparks isn't on the program this summer, but what about Wade Robson? Many fans of the show agree that he has put together some of fiercest couple routines and group performances that So You Think You Can Dance has ever seen.

Unfortunately, I don't know where Wade Robson is. Believe me, if I find out if he's coming back to Fox's hit show, you TV Squad readers will be the first to know. I thought in the meantime we could enjoy some of his other work, including his performance on Star Search as a little boy. It's adorable.

To use a well-worn phrase...Good News, Everyone! Your friends over here at TV Squad are heading on out to San Diego during the last week in July to cover one of the bigger, if not biggest, comic book and science fiction conventions on mainland America and the world. I speak, of course, of ComicCon.

From July 24th through July 27th you'll see us with our TV Squad T-Shirts (and underwear -- viewings of those by appointment) as we join the rest of the throngs attending the convention. At some point we may even be doing a bit of Twittering to find out where you are at the convention so you can find us in order to shake our hands (or, in the case of some of our commenters, punch and kick us) and potentially get some free stuff as well.

This post might get a little esoteric, but I'll just lay it out there and, as always, you can either take it or leave it. If you don't like talk about death and dying, stop reading here.

If I was asked to say just one thing about Six Feet Under, it's that they don't shirk from anything. The Fisher family is complex and messy, but the writers and actors put it all out there, whether it's gay sex, drugs, mental illness, or, of course, death.

That last one is a good thing for me, because I go to a lot of funerals. In the past few years, I've lost two aunts, a dad, a father-in-law, a grandma, a sister-in-law, two cousins, and at least two dozen friends. I've written scores of obituaries and played my violin for dozens of funerals. I'm on a first-name basis with most of the funeral directors in town. And you know what? It's OK! Six Feet Under has helped me to see that. Read on for five ways the show helps me cope with death.

If there were a way to completely stop people on the Internet from saying, "Why do you keep watching this? Saturday Night Live hasn't been good since the days of Gildaphil Belushikroyd Normfeyrrell!", I would punch that button (or that person). Thinking a little more optimistically, there can always be better days ahead, for SNL is forever renewable, with an ever changing cast and crew. The thing that gets the fastest turn-over is the host, who has the opportunity to bring something new and exciting from week to week.

Now that the so-so 33rd season is over, I like to pretend everyone at SNL has kicked aside all the beach time and BBQ invites to plan something exciting for their return. Picking good hosts is an important part of having a successful season, so I've compiled my own list of nine people that must host, just in case SNL decides to re-work the entire show based on blog responses. I'm just covering all my bases, all right?