TVSquad

Comedy Central is reviving The Gong Show. The original '70s variety show featured amateur acts who tried to impress the celebrity judges panel and avoid ... the gong.

The new show, which is currently casting for tapings on both coasts in Los Angeles and New York, will be hosted by Dave Attell. Yeah, remember him? The former stand-up comic from New York had his own show on Comedy Central called Insomniac with Dave Attell. I used to love that show. Attell would walk around the streets of different cities (mostly here in the States, but he went aboard too) and talk to people who were completely inebriated. He also occasionally talked to people who worked night shifts. I think he'll be a great host for this new project.

I think that because this show is on Comedy Central, it's going to be way more interesting and entertaining than the train wreck that is America's Got Talent. What do you think? Will you watch the new Gong Show?

[via BuzzerBlog]

You think some of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars are terpsichordian-challenged, that they look like klutzes? Well, some do. And you might think you can guess that a guy like Jason Alexander would be a complete joke on the dance floor. After all, as George on Seinfeld, did he ever seem like he could make it across the dance floor without tripping on his shoelaces?

Well, the man can move. On this week's episode of Bravo's Step It Up & Dance, Jason Alexander will present his credentials as a guest judge. He'll challenge the contestants to do what he's done -- very successfully in his career -- learn musical theater choreography.

Well, this is just poor timing. Today is Earth Day and now comes word that Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) plans to kill thousands of trees by writing a memoir.

Is this really necessary? Talk about a waste of paper. Typically, I expect someone to be a seasoned individual with years of experience behind them before they tackle writing a book like this. Isn't that what usually dictates the necessity of a memoir? Years and years of endless stories coupled with expert and unique wisdom? Miley Cyrus hasn't even turned 16 yet!

According to the AP, the memoir will focus on the solid relationship that Cyrus shares with her mother, Leticia. I'm sure it's really great. Between her TV gig, the concert tours, and now this book deal, I bet Miley has oodles of time to spend with her mother fostering a relationship that all young girls can look up to. No word on whether or not the book will address how Cyrus' father, Billy Ray, has expertly branded his daughter into a household name that fits right in with Coca-Cola, Kleenex, and Microsoft.

[via AOL TV]

For those that haven't heard, Robin Sparkles makes a triumphant return to How I Met Your Mother this coming Monday night, featuring guest appearances from Alan Thicke and James Van Der Beek.

Turns out, "Let's Go to the Mall" was only the A-side to her wildly popular Canadian pop single, first heard in the episode "Slap Bet." The B-side? "Sandcastles in the Sand," a cheesy ballad chock full of Canadian and 80's goodness... even though the song was supposedly recorded in the early 90's.

Well if you can't wait to hear it, now you can. Variety received the song and you can stream it from their website here. While not as catchy as "...Mall," the tune is still hilarious, full of Canuck references ("Together we were gonna travel the globe, from Alberta to Ontario.") and funny one-liners ("I miss your hair."). There's nothing yet on Sparkles' MySpace page, except the artwork for the album. I'm sure the full video will be posted after the show airs. It's sure to be an another huge viral hit for CBS and HIMYM.

As if we haven't heard this song a bajillion times already...

According to Pitchfork, Feist has recorded a special version of "1234" to air on an upcoming episode of Sesame Street. Someone want to explain this to me? Is it simply because the lyrics have numbers in them and by default it must be educational for small children? One quick glance at the words and it seems like the song is all about teenage love and how much it sucks. Is this really a song you want your toddler bopping around to?

Although, I suppose it doesn't really matter. That Apple iPod commercial that popularized the tune was on TV, oh I dunno, only every 4.3 seconds. I'm sure Steve Jobs is salivating at this news, armed with a business plan to release the brand new iPod Jr. around the same time. I hear it comes with a built in sippy cup!

[via Pop Candy]

I had no plans to watch CBS' Secret Talents of the Stars last night. When I heard about this competition show, I thought it would be tacky. George Takei singing country music? Come on! I may be a Trekkie but I can admit this match up is a tad weird (more on him later). Plus, 10 p.m. on Tuesdays for me right now is devoted to watching the Dancing with the Stars results show (I tape it and fast forward through it) and then Hell's Kitchen (I tape it as well). So why did I end up watching it? Simple, I watch Big Brother at 9 p.m. and was waiting for 10:05 because DwtS always finishes late. I didn't want to flip channels so not to hear who was voted off the dance competition, so I ended up watching the beginning of STotS where figure skater Sasha Cohen admitted her secret: she's highly flexible and wanted to do a contortionist routine. Since curiosity got the best of me, I decided to watch the entire segment and ended up being impressed.

How's this for a winning recipe? Domestic diva Martha Stewart has snagged superchef Emeril Lagasse for her empire. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. announced today the acquisition of Emeril's franchise -- all those cookbooks, kitchen products and TV shows in which he stars -- for $45 million in cash and $5 million in stock at closing. That $50 million could swell by $20 million more if "if certain benchmarkets are achieved."

Martha's purchase, however, does not include Emeril's Homebase, which includes the chef's 11 stellar restaurants, including Emeril's New Orleans and Delmonico's Steakhouse in Las Vegas.

As the race between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barak Obama heats up for the Democratic party presidential candidacy, here comes news that should throw the spotlight onto Hillary...if she's savvy enough to say yes. During a recent visit to The Tyra Banks Show, Hillary revealed that "if (paired) with one of those really good partners" she would someday like to compete on Dancing with the Stars. When the powers that be at Dancing heard that, they wasted no time in sending the former first lady a formal invitation. While they acknowledge that the show is not currently in production, dancers from the show are performing around the country in Dancing with the Stars - The Tour. They invited Hillary to choose any one of the dancers and take a try at a cha cha, pasa doble or tango. Or, if she prefer, she could always call on hubby Bill for a pas de deux.

Never mind what Paula Abdul is going to do at today's Super Bowl, this is more entertaining.

It's a scene from the 1978 film Junior High School, and yes, that is American Idol judge Paula Abdul "singing" the tune (I don't think Simon would give her a "yes"), which is probably called "We're Gonna Have A Party" or something similar. The clip is fascinating, on so many levels. It's like a local cable version of Degrassi Junior High. The IMDb tells us that it was filmed at Van Nuys High and featured "non-professionals and actual students," though that's very obvious when you see the clip.

I particularly like the hair and clothes on everyone (the '70s were a very odd time, people). I'm also fascinated by the shifts in tone in the clip. It starts out like a low budget High School Musical, then it shifts in Degrassi territory, and then it goes into the girl's bathroom and turns into a film noir, complete with sax music.

And I really don't want to know what Keith has in that briefcase.

If you tuned into Live with Regis & Kelly this morning expecting to see Ringo Starr perform his new single, then you were probably disappointed. He walked off the set before the show started.

Starr thought he was going to be able to perform the entire "Liverpool 8" song without editing (talk shows often need a shorter version of the song to fit their time schedule). He actually tried to cut the 4 minute, 15 second song down to the required 2 minute, 30 seconds, but found that he couldn't do it and still have the song be worth hearing, so he decided not to appear on the show at all.

(S01E03) So we started with laughable auditions and followed up with mediocre performances last week but now Bruno and Carrie Ann have picked their teams. Was last night different? Did Dance War do a 180 degree turn around? Not so much. Tonight was...well, it just plain stunk. I still feel like I'm watching a freaking high school musical.

Here's an idea for ABC's Dance War! How about spending some real money on the show? Perhaps get a sound guy who actually knows how to work microphones. Perhaps get some real costumes. And perhaps get some real talent!

Fans of comedy like myself waited with baited breath to see what their favorite talk shows would be like when they returned from the strike.

Dave Letterman, having made an interim deal with the WGA has settled back into usual comedy groove and Jay Leno, in all his scabby glory, has surprised millions by becoming even lamer than before. The one talk show host who stands out as really making an effort to please everyone is Conan O' Brien.

A lot of viewers who watch reality shows - even the music competition reality shows like American Idol - might not be aware that there's another long-running singing competition show on TV. It's called Nashville Star, and it's coming to NBC.

The show usually airs on one of NBC's other properties, USA Network, but in this new strike television landscape many shows are coming over to the big networks. The show will be paired with American Gladiators, as part of their "All-American Summer."

Believe it or not, this show is actually in its fifth season, so it has a lot of fans out there. Now we'll see if that viewership increases when it comes over to the Peacock. No new host(s) has been chosen yet.

Finally someone shows some love for Lost, which got itself back on track last season. The Directors Guild announced their nominees for this year's awards. Lost nabbed two nominations in the Dramatic Series category, for "The Looking Glass" and "The Brig." The Sopranos picked up two of the three remaining nominations, saving the last one for AMC's excellent freshmen drama, Mad Men.

On the comedy side, 30 Rock nabbed two nominations, with Desperate Housewives and Entourage picking up one each. And the critical love for ABC's incredibly charming Pushing Daisies continues as it snatches the final spot. But one category in which the Directors think very differently than anyone else is in Reality Programs. Not only is the kitschy Who Wants to be a Superhero? nominated, but is joined by Shooting Sizemore and Pros vs. Joes. The full list, including commercials, documentaries and mini-series after the jump.

Ah, Christmas music. A lot of people hate it. Those people are called "Scrooges."

I love Christmas music. The classic stuff, that is. Sinatra, Clooney, Como, instrumental music. If I hear Bruce Spingsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" or anything by Mariah Carey or U2 or McCartney or any rock band (though I love "Jingle Bell Rock," "Christmas Wrapping," and Darlene Love, which are all great), I'll strangle an elf, I swear.

After the jump I've posted many classic moments from TV specials and Christmas episodes of shows. You'll find everything from Dean Martin to a classic soda commercial and even a part of the male anatomy, placed in a square receptacle.