TVSquad

Richard Keller
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Governor Blagojevich is nuts. Blame it on his flimsy grasp of reality or his hard-hat like haircut, the current (for how long, who knows) governor of Illinois is not quite there. How do we know this? Well, rather than appearing at his own impeachment trial he's decided to let the good citizens of the U.S. know that he's being railroaded by his own government via various media outlets.

The other determining factor on his nuttiness...he was considering naming Oprah Winfrey as Barack Obama's replacement to the U.S. Senate. Now, while Oprah is a respectable personality who has done much good for people around the globe, she is in no way qualified to become a U.S. Senator. I know that some of you Oprahites would heartily disagree with this, but even you know, deep down inside, that giving Oprah a Senate seat would not be a good idea.

And, frankly, I think Oprah would agree with you.

If there is one thing in this crazy, mixed-up world that all human beings have in common, it's that we are creatures of habit. There are just some things that we do on a daily basis in order to maintain continuity and stay somewhat sane. It may be a certain morning routine, something you do at the beginning of each work day, or a particular domesticated animal that you burn during your sacrifice to the god Nomchakatu. No matter what it is, your day can go askew if you don't indulge in your particular habit or ritual.

One of these habits, which has been ingrained into many of us, is watching a particular show or shows right before we go to bed. Since the first grainy, black and white image was broadcast into the first home, millions have tuned into one show or another as a calming ritual before they go to sleep. In the very beginning, it may have been their local newscast or The Tonight Show. Now, with so many choices, what viewers watch before they pull the covers over their heads is nearly endless.

Just in time to tax refund season -- because you can't use the money for things like gas, food and basic survival -- comes the newest Barbie releases from toy giant Mattel. They're the Star Trek Barbie dolls -- three dolls that represent Kirk, Spock and Uhura. Okay, that's neat. But, there's just one issue...

See, these dolls are not designed after the original Star Trek cast from the 1960s. These dolls are modeled after the stars that will play those iconic characters in the new and highly anticipated Star Trek prequel coming out in May. Each doll comes dressed in the Starfleet outfits that are familiar to fans of the original series and carries a phaser (Type II model) and a communicator.

The cost for the dolls...forty-four friggin bucks a piece! Don't worry, because you have until the end of April to save up before they are released to Wal-mart, walmart.com, and Barbiecollector.com. Get them while they last before someone sells them on eBay for triple the price.

The celebrations may be over in Washington D.C. as President Barack Obama gets to work, but there's probably still some partying over at the networks as the ratings for the Inaugural Day coverage have begun to come in. Things look good for a number of networks as they continued their upward trend of viewership that began during election coverage.

Overall, nearly 38 million of viewers in the U.S. tuned into one of the 17 broadcast and cable networks to watch the inauguration events. While not the 41.8 million that watched Ronald Reagan's inauguration in 1981, it is the most viewers since that time. Breaking it down further, NBC, ABC and CNN led the way with the most viewers between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Even further than that, NBC had the most viewers between 11:00 and the end of Obama's speech with a total of 11.5 million. In the world of the Internet, MSNBC was king with a total of 16.4 million unique visitors throughout the day.

By the time you read this the most important part of today's inaugural shebang will be over and the pomp and circumstance will be in full swing. Being such an important event for both America and the world, second only to the season finales of American Idol, every single media outlet known to man is covering every single minute of the day. Heck, I hear Spice is even covering this with a bunch of naked women correspondents in the crowd at the Mall (NOTE: That's a joke. Do not rampage around the area looking for these naked women.)

Because there are so many places to watch these festivities I would like to know where you are watching them from and who, if anyone, you are viewing them with. Myself, I'm dividing my time watching it on television with my wife and 2-year-old twins and via Internet (CBS.com) as I work from home. I know that my compatriots at the office are watching it via laptop hookup on the video conference screen.

So, let us know. And, if you're watching the ceremonies on one of the big Jumbotrons in Washington DC we'd like to hear from you.

We may be witnessing some history here. I'm not talking about the Obama presidency, though that is very historic. Nor am I speaking about my recent advancement into my 40s, which isn't really historic bur rather another nail in my coffin. What I speak about here is a merging of two science fiction universes.

George Takei, the calm and cool Sulu from the original Star Trek series, will be providing a voice to a character on Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Takei will be providing words to the corpulent Lok Durd, a separatist Neimoidian general. Unlike the peaceful Sulu on Star Trek, Durd is somewhat overzealous (aka -- crazy like a loon) and has developed a weapon that will wipe out all living matter save for his battle droids.

After I read the press release about The Simpsons 20th year poster contest, one thought came to mind: Fire Prevention Week. If you were raised as a clean-cut boy and/or girl in the America of the last few decades, you'll recall the week in either September or October where you got to climb up on the firetruck parked in the school parking lot and learn all about fires from an honest-to-goodness firefighter. There was also an obligatory poster contest to create free press material for the fire departments in the area.

No matter how hard I tried, I could never win one of those contests. It usually went to someone who spent their time drawing pictures of Camaros on the back of their Trapper Keepers during math. And what do these people do now? Well, they draw Camaros on the back of Trapper Keepers. But, they get paid for it now. Anyway, for some reason that's where my mind went when I thought of this Simpsons' contest.

Admit it ... you're obsessed with the Jonas Brothers (known in the tween world as the Jo Bros) and Miley Cyrus (known in the tween world as -- Miley Cyrus). You wake up in Hannah Montana pajamas, you eat your cereal with your Miley Cyrus spoon, and you make sure you have safe sex with your Jo Bros' IUD. But, you need more to satisfy your craving for Disneyfied bubblegum rock and pop. Thing is, you fear that you have exhausted all of your resources.

Have some faith, slightly creepy one. Fact of the matter is the Disney Channel is watching your back. Starting at 5:30 pm tonight, the network will be premiering the Jonas Brothers' newest video, as well as Miley's first video from her new Hannah Montana movie. If that weren't enough to sustain you, Disney will be broadcasting the Kids Inaugural: We Are the Future concert, which will feature not only the Jo Bros and Miley, but Demi Lovato and Bow Wow (no longer 'Little').

See? Everything will be okay. Now you can get dressed in your High School Musical pants suit and head out to your job as CEO of a multi-billion dollar company.

[information courtesy of Cynopsis]

Now, before you raise your pitchforks in a move to skewer me as a "liberal journalist," I just want to clarify what this item will be about. This is not an article about the job President Bush has done over the last eight years. You all have your differing opinions (which should be vented on politically-based sites) about how good or bad he did when it comes to policy. What I am going to talk about here is more of an image issue than a job performance one. We good? Good!

I'm going to ask a simple question: Was George W. Bush a good television President? Let's face it, the way that any famous person, whether they be Hollywood star or politician, is prepped for the TV cameras can make or break that person. Take the example of the Kennedy-Nixon televised debate in 1960. While many people have said that Nixon 'won' the debate on his statements, they also say that the way he looked in front of the cameras made voters uneasy about him and, eventually, cost him the election.

I didn't realize that the late 90s offered up so many cartoons that are still around today. A week or so ago, I mentioned that The Powerpuff Girls were celebrating a 10th birthday with a Cartoon Network special and complete DVD box set. Now comes news that a certain walking and talking sponge is celebrating a 10-year anniversary, as well.

Nickelodeon's pants-wearing sponge will be celebrating his decade of entertainment in a number of ways. If you go to the new SpongeBob.com you'll have a chance to play SpongeBob games, watch SpongeBob videos, and read the blog of Mr. SquarePants' creators. If you watch any of the networks of the MTV universe (which Nickelodeon is a part of) you'll be able to view a documentary on the character and its popularity. Finally, if you can wait a few months, you will be able to catch some new SpongeBob SquarePants episodes featuring Dennis Quaid (March) and Johnny Depp (April).