TVSquad

Truly, Hollywood is out of ideas and everything old is new again: The cartoon The Pink Panther will be getting a new show on the Cartoon Network for a 26-episode run.

Of course, this generation has to add their own little spin on the character so he's going to be a little younger (more like a teenager) and hilarity will ensue. Classic characters such as Ant and Aardvark will appear. Perhaps this time they could get the actual Jackie Mason to do the voice of Aardvark rather than having John Byner do an impression of him. He needs the work.

I am trying to withhold judgment on this new cartoon. Having seen this before, I am automatically cynical of any attempts to revive a fond franchise of my youth. It's likely my opinion is not impartial. However, simply hearing that they have to make the main character a teenager in this new version automatically fills me with dread. Will he be talking as well? Even though I'm not the target demographic, I may just skip this one.

Like anything, watching television can be a habit. There are certain shows that you tune into on a regular basis because they make you feel safe, comfortable and give you that feeling of stability that may or may not surround the rest of your life. Because of that it can be difficult to latch on to a new show to watch. There's that uncertainty, that fear that you won't get used to the plot or the characters or the general feel for the show.

This is particularly true in my case since I watch a certain set of shows each week for review. However, this season I have decided to expand my television horizons a bit and search for some new programs to get involved with. By new programs I don't mean shows premiering this season, but programs that have been on the air for a while that I have never sen before of have glanced at from time to time. So, without further pontification, here are five shows that I'm now tuning into.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble. Paramount is now upset over the footage from their season premiere this past week of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas violently raping Indiana Jones.

For those who don't keep track, Viacom owns South Park. Viacom also owns Paramount which produces the Indiana Jones movies. See the problem?

Since emerging on the national stage about six weeks ago, Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin has become a superstar. Like her or loathe her, she is a celebrity. It's ironic, really, that McCain's so psyched about her high-powered appeal, because that's what his campaign was knocking Obama for just this past summer. Still, the crowds have showed that Palin's appeal to the Republican base, at least, is fervent.

On the other hand, thanks to Palin's poor performance in interview segments with CBS anchor Katie Couric, and Tina Fey's spot-on impression of her on Saturday Night Live, the Governor's image has taken a hit. There have been questions about how smart she is, as well as how qualified she is to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Fourteen million. That's not the number of dollars that are being lost in the stock market every second (I'm sure it's much, much more). It's actually the number of views that Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy reached during three weeks on the Interweb. Now, if he only got those numbers during the initial run of Family Guy on FOX.

To those that are totally lost because you've been staring at your 401K numbers for the last month, Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy launched on YouTube on September 10th. Sponsored by Burger King, it featured original animated content from Seth MacFarlane and his gang of miscreants. In a press release from Media Rights Capital, Cavalcade became the number one most-viewed channel on the video website a mere 48 hours after its launch. Since then, it has garnered not only the 14 million views mentioned above but 100,000 subscribers to the 'sethcomedy' channel. Making it one of the most subscribed YouTube channels of all time.

Let's talk (again) about commercials we hate.

Or maybe I should say commercials I hate, though I think you'll agree with me on some of these. They run the gamut from silly to ineffective, from dumb to just plain jaw-dropping. Let's start with jaw-dropping.

1. DirecTV's Poltergeist ad. This is...creepy and tasteless. Do the makers of this ad really not know that young Poltergeist star Heather O'Rourke died at a really young age? Even if they didn't (I'm kidding, of course they did), the star of the ad, Craig T. Nelson, is aware of it. So why use footage of her in the ad? It's just bizarre to me. Then again I'm not a DirecTV exec. They must know that what they're doing by using footage of a deceased child star (and a stand-in) to sell satellite TV service.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of The Ex-List and Numb3rs.
• NBC has a new America's Toughest Jobs at 8, followed by new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Life.
• FOX has new episodes of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? (with Ken Jennings) and Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then a new NOW.
  
• There's a new Smackdown! on MyNetwork TV at 8.
• Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Secret Saturdays at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has College Football, Louisville vs. Memphis.
• At 8:30, TBS has Game 1 of the Red Sox/Rays playoff game.
• Food Network has a new Rachael's Vacation at 8:30.
• At 9, USA has the season premiere of The Starter Wife.
• Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 9, then a new Sanctuary.
• Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Clone Wars at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

After a few weeks of rumors, denials, and "will she or won't she" talk, it looks like Governor Sarah Palin is finally set to appear on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

The Alaskan Governor and VP candidate will appear on the October 25 episode, according to Cindy Adams at The New York Post. If that wasn't exciting enough, this is the same episode that Jon Hamm will host, so I bet we can look forward to a Mad Men parody. Wouldn't it be great if Palin could appear in that sketch? Maybe she could play Joan Holloway. The mind reels.

Of course, she'll probably appear in the cold open, I'm guessing alongside Tina Fey and her fake Palin, similar to the time that Hillary Clinton appeared alongside Amy Poehler and gave her tips on how to play her.

I wonder if Palin will change the opening to the show and say something like "LIVE FROM GODLESS NEW YORK, HOME OF THE MEDIA ELITE, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE!"

The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their latest musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:

• Watch Spielberg and Lucas rape Indiana Jones (calm down... it's from South Park, not some sick Kingdom of the Crystal Skull outtake).
• The seven cool horror films of the 1980s. Not sure why Ishtar wasn't on that list. It was pretty horrific.
• Speaking of horror films, here are seven first-person horror films worth watching.
• The Cinematical folks go to London to take a gander at the James Bond: For Your Eyes Only exhibit at the Imperial War Museum.
• A new trailer for Twilight. Not to be confused with last year's CBS series Moonlight.

This really isn't stunning news, as both shows are loved my millions and get great ratings every week, but I think it will bring a smile to people's faces as we watch the Dow go down again.

USA Network has renewed Burn Notice for a third season and Psych for a fourth season. This means the new seasons that will begin in the summer of 2009, not the current season which had its summer finale this summer and will launch the second half of their seasons in January.

You know, TV seasons used to be a lot easier to figure out.

This news is going to upset fans of Knight Rider. Both of them.

Senator Barack Obama has bought 30 minutes of airtime on NBC on October 29 at 8pm, which means that he'll knock Knight Rider off the air for the night (no idea what NBC will put in the other 30 minutes, perhaps a repeat). Obama has also bought 30 minutes at the same time on CBS, which means that The New Adventures of Old Christine will air at 8:30 and the new Jay Mohr sitcom Gary Unmarried won't be on that night at all. FOX won't air the ads because of the World Series, and ABC said they'd air it only if Obama would dance with someone and/or get an extreme makeover.

And yes, if you're curious, the networks have of course offered Senator John McCain the same deal, though analysts aren't sure if he has the money to afford the 30 minute ads.

I don't mind this move because I don't watch either show. Now, if he were to interrupt 30 Rock or Mad Men or Heroes, well, then we'd have a problem.

Last night, Oliver Stone went on The Colbert Report to plug his new movie W, which examines the life and presidency of George W. Bush. Stone isn't exactly known as one of the most ardent supporters of the Republican Party, and I bet everyone expected Stephen Colbert to ratchet up his O'Reilly-esque character in order to "nail" Stone, as Colbert likes to say.

But, either on his on or in cahoots with the producers, Stone decided to go in the other direction. "I really started to like him, and I think he's a great man," Stone said. "He is on his way to being a great president." His entire interview consisted of deadpan praises of Bush and his handling of everything in his administration. He also suggested that we suspend the election (a la McCain suspending his campaign) so Bush can stay in power and deal with the failing economy. He even said "I love Fox News."

I bet Stone thought that he could throw Colbert for a loop. But that just means he doesn't know Colbert very well. The man's a master of improvisation, and he just rolled with it, as you can see in the video clip after the jump.

The 4400 co-creator and producer Scott Peters is remaking the 1980's V miniseries for ABC. The article expressly states that the original creator, Kenneth Johnson, will not be involved.

I'm somewhat dreading this remake because Peters says he will pretty much revamp the human story to something completely different (although an alien invasion will probably still be involved). The theme of the new version will more be about having blind faith in leadership rather than being an allegory of the Nazi occupation of Germany.

It's entirely possible this new version would work. The current Battlestar Galactica is not very much like its predecessor and represents science fiction at its finest. The original V terrified the crap out of the much younger me. Then the network wussed out with the concept and tried to maximize profits by tacking on a happy-ending sequel miniseries and shortly-lived continuing series.

On the other hand, the revamped Flash Gordon was a pile of suck. Here's hoping V is better.

(S09E01) It's rare when a procedural drama, especially one like CSI which is the blueprint for forensics-driven cop shows, has the chance for a truly emotional, cathartic episode. That's what happened with this episode and CSI's stellar cast rose to the occasion, especially William Petersen.

Picking up right where it left off in the season finale, unlike most CSI plots, this one wasn't a whodunit or a whydunit or even a howdunit. The audience knew what had happened in the early morning hours after the night shift finished work and shared breakfast together.

Outside the diner, down a dark alley, Warrick was sitting alone in his car and something ominous was bound to happen -- and did.

For more on the aftermath, stick with me following the jump.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: 90210, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Prison Break and The Office. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)