TVSquad

Meredith's sister! Alex's anger! Izzy and Denny! George and The Busty Nurse with Porn Star Makeup! Christina's naked! Chris O'Donnell!?! Believe me, we would have loved to have podcasted the last episode of Grey's Anatomy for you, but Kat is on vacation. We'll be back next week with an all new podcast, wrapping up the events of the last two episodes. In the meantime, here's a game: let's throw out predictions for how long it'll take Derek to punch the hunky vet in the face. if you get it right, you'll get a shoutout on the ensuing podcast episode, as well as our undying love and respect.

Really brief podcast this week – as the fans know, last Sunday's episode was a re-run – but you can still download the episode directly (here).

More importantly, it's time to announce the winner of our Drinking Game Contest. And the TV Squad t-shirt goes to ... Diana, whose drinking game went like this:

"I think only Tequila should be used, since it is Meredith's weapon of choice.

I think everyone should be required to drink one shot when:

-the word Seriously is used.
-Derek is on his Sidekick or whatever he's carrying around this season
-They're all gathered eating or in the basement talking
-Bailey says something funny
-Christina gives someone the 'you're an idiot' look Sandra Oh does so brilliantly

I don't think double shots should be required, cause you wanna actually make it through the show, but:

The bottle should be finished whenever Addison makes her exit, and/or when Derek/Meredith finally have sex again."

Diana, please contact us with your size and address, and we'll send the shirt right out to you.

Next week's podcast is up in the air right now, as Kat will be on vacation. We're going to try to do it over Skype, but if that doesn't pan out, we will return the following week with a double episode – and a report on how Diana's game works in practice. See you then!

I swear, we really did record a Grey's Anatomy podcast last week – I was at SXSW, and thus something like 8500 miles away from home base, but I actually called Kat from my hotel room, and we did the whole thing. Unfortunately, the recording quality sounded like crap, and had to be scrapped. And so we're back, after a brief hiatus, to discuss last Sunday's episode, Superstition. Like our own Sarah Gilbert, Kat and I weren't too thrilled with this episode – but we still have faith, and we explain why in this podcast. We also give an update on the status of our Drinking Game Contest, so if you've entered, thought about entering, or missed that whole train and now feel a sudden compulsion to enter, make sure to listen all the way through to the end. And, as always, share your beef in the comments.

You can listen to this episode directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link). Enjoy!

Update by Randall, Producer: Hey, we had some crazy distortion issue with the MP3.  We've re-encoded and reuploaded, sorry for the issue.

Last Sunday's episode of Grey's Anatomy was all about karma, and it left us podcasters wondering what *we* had done to deserve such torture. I'm not sure if Kat and I were just in a really bad mood, or what, but we were not happy with this episode – and our podcast producer had to work overtime on the bleep button in order to mask our (well, mostly my) discontent. Listen here, and if you so desire, argue with us in the comments. Also, Grey's drinking game contestants will want to listen all the way through, because we announce the deadline for our contest. And keep in mind, there will be no episode or podcast next week – it's getting preempted for a little show called the Oscars.

You can listen to this episode directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link). Enjoy!

The Grey's Anatomy podcasting team is back with an all new post-show edition. This time around, we're discussing last night's episode, "Yesterday" - and yes, there are spoilers, so if you haven't watched the show yet, and are sensitive to such things, you probably want to hold off on listening. At the very end of the podcast, we announce The Totally Unofficial Grey's Anatomy Drinking Game Contest, so listen all the way through for your chance to win a TV Squad T-shirt.

You can listen to this episode directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link). Enjoy, and please - snark back in the comments.

Watch out, Grey's Anatomy fans – TV Squad is launching a podcast just for you. In this, the first episode, I'm joined by Kat Parr (both of us mostly blog over at sister site Cinematical) to discuss the epic two-parter that began after the Super Bowl and concluded last week. You can listen to the podcast here. Give it a listen before tonight's all-new episode – and keep an eye on TV Squad for an installment devoted to that sometime tomorrow. So enjoy, and please – let us know what you think in the comments.

Grab the file directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link).  (Running time: 30:04)

Okay, first of all, let's be fair: Ellen's "exclusive" interview with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? Um, she actually just sort of ran into them – her "old friends" – at CES and cobbled together a small on-the-spot crew for a brainless, 2-minute chat. Because neither Tom nor Katie is inherently interesting on their own, Ellen had to work overtime to stretch the dialogue out to fill the segment. She chose the "name your baby after me" angle:


Ellen: "Have you thought about a Godmother?"
Tom (wearing sunglasses inside and freeze-smiling like an android): "Not yet - are you available?"
Ellen: "Have you thought of a name?
Tom (android laughter): "Not yet."
Ellen: "Ellen."
Tom (more android laughter): "If its a boy?"
Ellen: "Dylan."

Then they just kind of babbled for a long time. Tom said that "Kate" had just learned how to snowboard, and "Kate" said, "Snowmobile", and dipped her head into Tom's neck. Ellen looked on, confused, until Tom changed the subject: "Inside joke."

This was the closest it got to resembling an actual conversation between human beings:

Ellen: "I'm serious about really helping out. How often do babies have to eat?"
Tom: "I think it's a couple of times a week?"

So, all in all, pretty crazy-free, and as such, thoroughly disappointing. But Ellen fans would still be well served by tuning in – at the end of the show, she bumps-and-grinds with the Pussycat Dolls, and it's totally worth the wait.

Surely, you've seen the ads for NBC's big new midseason dramedy, The Book of Daniel? The one where the Vicodin-addicted Episcopal priest talks to a bum-hippie Jesus about his drug dealing daughter and his gay son and the fact that his lesbian secretary is sleeping with his sister-in-law? You know, the one that looks like a piece of overcooked, self-conciously "quirky" Ally McBealist crap? As Adam pointed out yesterday morning, the American Family Association is even more excited about Daniel than I am, although for entirely different reasons; in fact, they're calling for NBC to cancel the show before it even airs. In a statement sent to their members, AFA said, "It would be beneficial to all if NBC showed a little more respect for Christians who believe the Bible." They're asking their members to bombard the network with letters until they get their way. Meanwhile, NBC has fought back with a statement of their own, predictably insisting that if we try it, we might like it. "We're confident that once audiences view this quality drama themselves, they'll appreciate this thought-provoking examination of one American family," the network says. 

Hmmmm... an absurdly reactionary organization is trying to get an apparently crap show canceled before it debuts. That's just silly. Then again, it is, by all appearances, a crap show. What side to take?

Today's Oprah – actually, I think it was a repeat - featured the entire cast of Paul Haggis' Crash (which Oprah, as she reminded us ad nauseum, "looooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvved") talking about racism. I tuned in late (all the better to misinterpret out of context, my pretties), but I caught an ... um ... interesting segment about  linguistics.

When I turned the TV on, Oprah and Don Cheadle were talking over, and almost yelling at, each other. Apparently they were right in the middle of an intense debate over the proper use of the "N Word". Then Terrence Howard (who, the cynics amongst us will point out, is campaigning for Oscar nods on at least 2 performances and, as such, probably wants to be seen as Nice Guy) tells Oprah that he's decided to stop using it; Cheadle vehemently explains why he's opposed to pressuring people into limiting their linguistic choices. As if to bully him into breaking the tie for her side, Oprah turns to Ludacris. "Cris, would you consider not using The Word?" Visibly uncomfortable., Luda smiles. "Uh, I feel the same way Don does about it." Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Sandra Bullock pipes up:

"As long as we're going to stop using words," she says (and I'm totally paraphrasing), "Can we stop with the bitch and the ho, for women?"

The crowd goes wild. Completely silent during the previous portion of the conversation, all of a sudden there are 200 mild-mannered housewives gone wild, hooting and cheering and stomping their feet. And then ...

Ludacris: We can stop when women stop calling themselves bitches.

Sandra Bullock: I don't call any woman a bitch. (pause, then, totally straight-facedly) Unless she is one.

Cut to some kind of language expert, sitting in the crowd. "80 years ago, you could call a woman a broad. We don't do that anymore."

Oh. Really? Whoops.

Or, was, at any rate. Page Six (cribbing from the ever-reliable National Inquirer) is reporting today that the uber-hyper TV cook, now host of the Food Network's 30 Minute Meals as well as a frequent guest on Oprah, dropped out of Pace University after after blowing through her tuition money, and, with creditors on her tail, fled New York for the Adirondacks. "She spent the money and then she didn’t want her mom to find out, so she borrowed money to pay her tuition, and then she couldn’t pay it back," a source told the scandal sheet. "She was bouncing checks, and some people were threatening her.” Ray's official bio says nothing about her days at Pace – only that she worked in several NY gourmet stores before deciding that "though this New York City fast track was exciting, Rachel ... wanted to return to the lifestyle of the Adirondacks.” Her rep insists that she left New York after being mugged by the same man twice, a story which Ray's father, Jim, confirmed to the Inquirer. " She thought she’d be raped or murdered the last time," Jim said. "Fortunately a dog barked and he ran off.”

Proving once again that the gal with the best implants always stays afloat, Anna Nicole Smith has found herself an unlikely ally in her Supreme Court battle for the kabillion dollar inheritance she believes her ex-husband wanted her to have.  U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, the Bush administration's top Supreme Court attorney, has filed arguments on behalf of Smith, and is lobbying for permission to argue alongside Smith's attorney when the case goes before the judges on February 28. Though Bush has more than a couple of things in common with Smith's long-dead benefactor – both were Yalies -turned- Texas oilmen – this is apparently an issue not of fraternity, but of politics: the Supremes are only hearing Smith's case because it maintains that federal court rulings should maintain superiority over local judgements, and that's apparently an issue close to the Neo-con administration's heart.

From the Totally Unsubstantiated Rumor file: Page Six is "reporting" this morning that a cashed-strapped Courtney Love - slimmed down and drug free but apparently broke as all get out – is working on selling the rights to her late husband Kurt Cobain's musical output. This comes after a messy, multi-year battle between Love and Cobain's former band mates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (as well as original drummer Chad Channing, at least according to the Sixers) over the future of the Nirvana catalogue: if I remember correctly, the boys wanted to put everything in the hands of the fans, whilst Love wanted to slowly parcel out the outakes and rarities to ensure the maximum padding for Frances Bean's college fund. Page Six says Love is looking for $100 million.

Al Sharpton, you'll remember, ran for president last year, and it was such a success that he's now in talks to star in his very own sitcom. To be called – wait for it – Al in the Family, the CBS sitcom would allow Al to "play off his larger-than-life personality" every week. Sharpton's television credits include guest stints on Boston Public and My Wife and Kids; he also hosted a reality show called – no, seriously, this one is worth waiting for – I Hate My Job. All of this begs the question: Which former presidential candidate are *you* dying to see "play off [their] larger-than-life personality" on the small screen? John Kerry? Michael Dukakis? Paul Tsongas? The mind reels.

Just days after its official cancellation, the effort to resurrect Arrested Development is sweeping the internets, and Michael Meiser is doing his part. Not only has he posted this video (a rant by David Cross directed at FOX's inability to market a show that's "won five motherf*cking Emmys"), culled from the Season 2 DVD set, but he's also written an open invite to Cross, and anyone else involved with the show, to bring the act to the web. The whole thing is worth a read, but here's the general idea: "Please, don't throw in the towel just because Fox cancelled its order," Meiser writes. "Just ditch those dudes and come on down to the new game in town...I'm sure we can hook you up with a few hundred thousand paying subscribers since the internet reaches a hare more people than the WB network ... So call me!" Think the AD kids'll take Meisner up on it? And would you pay a subscription fee to keep the show in production?

Two of Hollywood's biggest labor unions, the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America, have banded together to oppose product placement on TV. Here's the thing: you've got your PVR, and you're trying to inhale 6 episodes of Desperate Housewives in one sitting, so, of course, you're skipping the ads. Because advertisers are – surprise! – not stupid, they've started brokering side deals with content creators to essentially insert commercials for their stuff into the scripts. And so, you feel like you're socking it to the man every time you zap through a car commercial, and yet, there's Eva Longoria on Housewives, heaping exuberant praise on Buick cars. The WGA was expected to publicly release a "position paper" in protest this morning; it's most damning line reads, "We are being told to write the lines that sell this merchandise, and to deftly disguise the sale as story. Our writers are being told to perform the function of ad copywriter, but to disguise this as storytelling." Ouch. SAG is mad too – but a statement from their president, Alan Rosenberg, reveals the less-than-altruistic motivations behind all this. "The sharp increase of product placement in film and television too often takes place without any compensation to the very performers that are expected to push those products and more often is done without any consultation with those performers." Money and power – what else could it possibly all be about?