TVSquad

(S04E11) With this episode, Donna has become my favorite Doctor Who companion of all time. Yes, better than Sarah Jane. Yes, better than Rose (who finally reappears as a person and not in a cameo or on a video screen). I love her quick temper yet human personality (it's reminiscent of Rose's mother from the first two seasons), which makes sense since this episode is about the Doctor's adventures from the human perspective.

(S01E06) Steve Niles has become the modern day horror maven of the comic book world. He brought us 30 Days of Night, which is far better in the comic world than on the big screen. Here, he's paired with Darren Bousman, director of the Saw sequels to bring zombies to broadcast television. Right away, then, this had a better chance of me liking it because I've always had a soft spot for zombies and Niles has offered us a pretty different take on the genre.

It's been one busy little Big Brother 10 house since Wednesday night's live eviction show. Following the same schedule as last season, the nominations were made yesterday and the Power of Veto competition was today. Oh, yeah...and there was a food comp in there, too.

Now, you could wait until Sunday and Tuesday respectively to find out who was nominated for eviction and who won the Power of Veto. Or you could just read on past the jump for extreme show spoilers from the 24/7 live feeds.

Some quickie news from Showtime, presented by entertainment president Bob Greenblatt:

• Ilene Chaiken is developing a spin-off for The L Word, which will feature a yet unspecified character from the original show, whose upcoming season will be its last. There will be an open-ended plot in the season finale that Chaiken will continue online, then pick up if the spin-off comes to pass.
• Two more 13-episode seasons of Weeds have been ordered.
• A seventh season of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! has been ordered, making it Showtime's longest-running show.
• A reality/documentary show called Lock 'N Load has been ordered; it's filmed in a gun shop, and it shows the various people who purchase guns and "exploit their right to bear arms," according to the press release.
• Two new pilots have been ordered and filmed. The United States of Tara, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Diablo Cody, stars Toni Collette as a suburban mother with multiple-personality disorder. John Corbett stars as her husband (yes... it's a comedy). The other pilot is tentatively-titled Nurse Jackie. It stars Edie Falco as a New York City nurse with a painkiller addiction who sometimes crosses moral lines to help her patients (no... it's not a comedy). Tara will begin airing in winter 2009, and Jackie will begin airing in late spring or early summer.
  

After the executive session, it was CBS News' turn to face the critics and talk about their election coverage. Via satellite from their New York studios was CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, Face the Nation moderator Bob Schieffer, senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield, and CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus.

Right away, a reporter brought up Katie Couric's job status. "I'm glad you got right to it," Couric joked. "I thought [the speculation] had died down considerably." She said she "can't control what media writers write. We live in an echo chamber," with media reporters more fascinated by her status than the general public is. "The attention befuddles me," she continued. She's concentrating on doing "the best job I can."

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

• Charlie Rose: a discussion of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday
• The Late Show with David Letterman: Rosie Perez and David Sedaris
• Jay Leno: Tim Allen, Demi Lovato, and OneRepublic
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ant and Dec, and Minus the Bear
• Tavis Smiley: Famke Janssen, John Dean, and Barry Goldwater, Jr. (repeat)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Senator John McCain and The Steeldrivers
• The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Mary Steenburgen and Criss Angel
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Daryl Hannah and Josh Kelley (repeat)

Since it's Star Trek Week here at TV Squad (the original series, that is), I thought I'd post the first official teaser poster ads for the movie that show what Chris Pine and Zachery Quinto look like as James. T. Kirk and Spock.

Now, it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, or in this case a movie from a teaser poster. But if we can judge the movie on the casting of one of the major parts and/or the makeup used on that actor, then this movie looks awesome. Quinto (Sylar on Heroes) is a terrific choice to play a younger Spock. I say "younger" and not "young" because Quinto is only a few years younger than Leonard Nimoy was when he debuted as Spock on NBC in the 60s. There's not a lot of info about the plot of the movie, only that it takes place before the original show and involves Starfleet, so I'm not sure exactly how young Kirk and Spock are supposed to be (plus we're talking about a half Vulcan here so getting into those details are probably pointless).

But what about the guy playing Kirk?

• At 8, The CW has a new Smackdown!
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• Versus has more coverage of The Tour de France at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Duel, followed by a new 20/20.
• USA has the season premiere of Monk at 9, then the season premiere of Psych.
• Sci-Fi has a new Doctor Who at 9, followed by a new Stargate Atlantis.
• At 10, CBS has a new Flashpoint.
• History Channel has a new Shockwave at 10.
• Comedy Central has a new Live at Gotham at 10.
• There's a new episode of The Soup at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The first day of the combined CBS / CW / Showtime part of the tour kicked off with the executive session from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. Before she got on stage, the network showed a montage of their shows. It was then I realized, "Boy, I really don't watch anything on this network, do I?" I mean, outside of the Monday comedies and The Price is Right, there isn't one show on the Eye net that I tune in on a daily basis.

Anyway, she addressed the departure of William Peterson from CSI, just about right off the bat, giving the gathered writers a clue as to the nature of the character who will be coming in to fill his void. Oh, and Tassler is studying to become a cantor. For some reason, a reporter asked her about that.

Interesting yet - OK, I'll say it - odd piece over at the Los Angeles Times: Are the Emmys out of touch with what most TV viewers watch?

I would I think in some ways, yes, and thank God for that.

The main point of the article (titled "The TV Hit No One Watches") is that a show like Mad Men can garner 16 nominiations (a lot for any show but it's especially impressive for a new show, and a new show that's on cable) but still only average about one million viewers a week. And to this I say "so what?" If the Emmys just nominated/gave awards to American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men, and Grey's Anatomy, wouldn't we be a little ticked off? The fact that shows such as Mad Men, Damages, and Breaking Bad got so many awards is a very, very good thing, for the Emmy voters and viewers alike, because they also happen to be fantastic shows.

First up, congratulations to The Daily Show for their multiple Emmy nominations! Hey, Jon Stewart even grabbed a nomination for hosting the Oscars. Well done, well done. Awards night will definitely be interesting, as The Colbert Report also got lots of Emmy attention, but in the very same categories as Jon and his team. I'm so torn between the two that I may have to avoid the issue all together and just blindly root for some other show.

Secondly, if you saw The Colbert Report last night and felt a little embarrassed for Stephen Colbert for interrupting Rush's performance of "Tom Sawyer"... It was a planned joke about the length of the band's songs. I cannot believe the number of people who went online to rip on Colbert for being clueless enough to do that. Come on, as if Colbert would screw up Rush's first American TV appearance in 33 years with something like that. I feel silly for even having to clear this up.

And now, a message from the producers of Gossip Girl:

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For Ken Erhlich, executive producer of the Emmy broadcast, the goal is clear. "The war cry is always, 'What are we going to do and how are we going to make it better?' We did some inventive things, we changed it up, we understand that this is the industry's big night. This means something and we can't trivialize it, but we certainly can have some fun with it." He told me that last year, prior to the Emmy-in-the-round broadcast, a memorable -- and successful show.

In 2008, the decisions about the 60th anniversary Emmys are still in the works for the September LA broadcast, but one decision has already been made. It won't be in the round. While it looked good on air, the industry didn't like it. "People loved it at home. It had a great look, but you know, you try things, you want to bring something fresh to the show."

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

The original version of Star Trek has been a show with two faces. On the one face, it was a serious show that dramatized the good and glorious future we humans could have after we screwed everything up (though, with so many wars going on around the galaxy, how good and glorious could it be?). On the other face, at least to some, it was a campy science fiction show that featured poor special effects, bad acting, and tunics that really didn't hold up to space travel too well.

Since the show left the airwaves in 1969, that second face is the one that television shows throughout the decades have parodied. Whether it be the original series itself, or the subsequent movies, or the conventions that sprung up from this show that lasted only 79 episodes. Shows both animated and live-action have found ways to skewer the show's, and its fans', good intentions. After the jump you'll find a few examples of those parodies either to laugh with or be angry at.

Sure, going to jail may be a poor life choice, but when you're a reality TV star, it's certainly not going to hurt your career. Despite the fact that Khloe Kardashian is headed to the slammer for a 30-day stint, E! has just announced that it is renewing Keeping Up with the Kardashians for a third season.

Keeping Up follows Khloe, her sister Kourtney and the infamous Kim Kardashian as they deal with their family (mom Kris Jenner is married to former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner) and life in LA as they try to stay in the public eye. Previous episodes have dealt with the fallout from Kim's sex tape, Kourtney's underage naked photos, and Khloe's DUI arrest. As Lisa Berger, E!'s executive VP original programming and series development understates, "There is never a shortage on drama, and we are certain the new season will be another wild ride,"

People are definitely watching. While its numbers would get a network show canceled in a heartbeat, Keeping Up with the Kardashians' 1.6 million viewer average makes it a hit on E! Ten episodes have been ordered for season 3, which will premiere early next year.