TVSquad

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.

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.

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

Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex.

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

• Charlie Rose: Neil Young
• The Daily Show: Maggie Gyllenhaal
• The Colbert Report: Elizabeth Edwards
• The Late Show with David Letterman: Ricky Gervais and John Mellencamp
• Jay Leno: David Spade, Jordana Spiro, and Coldplay
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, and Cool Kids
• Tavis Smiley: Jewel and Sarah Sentilles (repeat)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Aaron Eckhart, Caroline Rhea, and Dr. Dog
• The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Jet Li and Rita Rudner
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Chelsea Handler and Serj Tankian (repeat)

• At 8, CBS has a new Greatest American Dog.
• NBC has a new, two hour Last Comic Standing at 8, followed by a new Fear Itself.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8, then a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• HGTV has all new episodes starting at 8: Designed To Sell, Myles of Style, Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• Also at 8: Cartoon Network has a new Chowder, then new episodes of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Total Drama Island.
• At 9, TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show, followed by a new My Boys.
• History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 9, then a new The Works.
• At 10, ABC has a new Hopkins.
• CBS has a new Swingtown at 10.
• There's a new Burn Notice on USA at 10.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 10.
• Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List at 10.
• The new Gong Show premieres on Comedy Central at 10. It's followed by the premiere of Reality Bites Back.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Um....OK, so I just turned on MSNBC to get the latest news and I get a notice on the screen that says this.

NOT AUTHORIZED
To order MSNBC service on channel 114, call 1-800....

What the hell? So I go to channel 114 and it has the same message. At first I thought it was one of those temporary glitches that sometimes happen to cable systems (in this case, Comcast), but then I read this over at TV Newser. Seems that Comcast is starting to drop MSNBC from its basic package in many areas and putting it in the digital package. They're doing it in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Connecticut, and now it looks like it is affecting Massachusetts, too. Anyone else out there not have MSNBC?

I think we pay approximately $4000 a month for cable and we have a digital package, so I would hope MSNBC would be covered (especially since CNN and FOX News are there). I'm going to get my paperwork and find out why this move isn't included in it. This isn't even remotely Comcastic.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Evelyn Keyes: Although she was best known for her movie work, including The Seven Year Itch, Gone with the Wind, The Jolson Story, and Here Comes Mr. Jordan, she also guest starred on many TV shows, including The Love Boat, several episodes of Murder, She Wrote, Amazing Stories, and Climax! She was once married to jazz legend Artie Shaw and directors John Huston and Charles Vidor. She died in Montecito, CA at age 91.

Hot on the heels of Jimmy Kimmel's questions to ABC chief Steve McPherson about Jay Leno coming to ABC comes this: Leno says he's leaving NBC for good.

NBC has said several times that even though Conan O'Brien is going to replace Leno as host of The Tonight Show next year, they were very interested in having him stay with the network to do...well, something else. Host another show, host specials, fix the cars of the executives, whatever. But now Leno tells USA Today that he's not interested in any of that and he's leaving NBC. He doesn't say that he's going to retire (he's just not that type, and it's the one thing I like about him), he just says he's leaving NBC and that he'll get another job and be fine.

Leno will probably have many offers to choose from as 2009 approaches, so I wouldn't worry about him.

9:23: Here are all of the nominations. Leave your comments below as to what should have been nominated but wasn't and the nominations that make you roll you eyes and say, "give me a break..."

9:22: I have a feeling James Spader is going to lose this year.

9:20: Battlestar Galactica fans will be happy to see a nom in the writing category.

9:18: So...no nomination for The Wire? That's going to make fans throw their TV sets through their windows (though TV sets are harder to lift nowadays...maybe they'll just kick them in). Still not sure why Jon Cryer is "supporting" and Charlie Sheen is "lead" on Two and a Half Men.

9:15: So I lied. Instead of reposting up here I just went back to the entries below (oh, the wonder of the internet!) and put show titles in, made them italic, made everything easier to read.

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

Yes! The second season premiere of Burn Notice hit #2 this week! Sure, it was expected, but that doesn't mean it's not fantastic news. USA has a ton of shows in the top 10, actually, taking six of the spots. Those Sprint Cup races seem to make an appearance every week now, as do Army Wives on Lifetime and something on Disney Channel that features a Hannah and/or a Jonas brother.

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. Burn Notice (USA)
3. Sprint Cup - Chicago (TNT)
4. In Plain Sight (USA)
5. Monday Night RAW (USA)
6. Law and Order: CI (USA)
7. Picture This (ABC Family)
8. Camp Rock (Disney)
9. Law and Order: SVU (USA)
10. Army Wives (Lifetime)

The Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow morning at 8:30am, and I'll be live-blogging the announcement, so come back here at that time for all the news. Well, actually, you won't have to "come back here" if you never leave, right? So please keep TV Squad open in a separate window as you do the rest of your web surfing and keep hitting refresh for the latest news. Thank you.

I'm sure a lot of the usual suspects will be in the mix when they announce the nominees: Lost, House, Desperate Housewives, The Wire, Hugh Laurie, Boston Legal, etc. But there are several shows and actors that I'm really pulling for and should get nominations, if the world is fair. My list after the jump.

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

• Charlie Rose: New Yorker editor David Remnick
• The Daily Show: Kenneth Pollack
• The Colbert Report: Rush
• The Late Show with David Letterman: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Neil Young, and The Hold Steady
• Jay Leno: John C. Reilly, Venus Williams, and Gavin Rossdale
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nick Lachey, Gabrielle Union, and Nas
• Tavis Smiley: Van Jones and Parag Khanna (repeat)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Meryl Streep, Russell Brand, and Eugene Mirman
• The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Sir Ben Kingsley
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Kenny & Spenny and Fat Joe (repeat)

• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• FOX has a new, two-hour So You Think You Can Dance at 8.
• PBS has a new Click & Clack's As The Wrench Turns at 8, then a new NovascienceNOW.
• At 9, NBC has a new Baby Borrowers, followed by a new Celebrity Circus.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9.
• History Channel has Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight at 9.
• There's a new Costas Now on HBO at 9.
• Bravo has a new Project Runway at 9, then a new Shear Genius.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Crime.
• TruTV has a new Black Gold at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• Also at 10: Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible.

Check your local TV listings for more.