TVSquad

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.

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.

Did you know that Paris Hilton is running for President? I know, I know, you haven't seen any commercials on TV and she hasn't participated in any of the debates and who knows if she even knows what the word incumbent means, but she wants to be the next leader of the free world. And she's asked the best fake President we've ever had for some advice.

That's right, Paris has asked Martin Sheen (aka Jed Bartlett) for advice on how to be a fake President if that day should come. At first Sheen seems rather confused at why he's talking to Hilton ("I don't usually come to this kind of party."), but he eventually gives her advice, including how to solve problems in the kitchen ("During my fake Presidency, the kitchen was always my favorite spot to solve the great fake issues of our time), and why it's harder to be a fake President today than it was when his first term started in the late 90s. Sheen is pretty funny: great delivery and he does it all with a mock seriousness. Also look for a cameo at the end by the highest-paid sitcom star on TV right now.

Last time on 'Saturday Morning' we took at look at the ambitious NBC schedule of the 1973-74 television season. This time we will examine the lineups for ABC and CBS during that time period.

At a quick glance, both networks maintained the 'primetime' look that was established by ABC the season before by adding a number of shows that featured animated versions of nighttime television characters. This was in addition to the shows that already existed, which made this one of the first seasons where real-life characters nearly outnumbered imaginary ones. This was also the first year for the 'all-star' genre of cartoons. ABC featured two of these types of programs, both featuring characters well-known to a previous generation of Saturday morning viewers.

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about The Colbert Report when it first started. I thought it was a great show, I just wasn't sure how long it would last because Stephen Colbert was doing a character, and I thought the character would become tiresome after a few months (at the most). But here we are a few years later and if anything, Colbert's show has become just as "Must-See" as The Daily Show. Maybe even a little more. Every single episode is very, very funny, including last night's, where Colbert introduced a new reporter, Larry Wolf Olberado Doocy 360.

As you can probably tell, it's an unholy mix of various cable newsmen (but no women!), including Larry King, Wolf Blitzer, Keith Olbermann, Geraldo Rivera, Steve Doocy, and Anderson Cooper. Just in time for Halloween, I think. Video of the segment is after the jump.

As I was eating breakfast while flipping the pages of a French local newspaper this morning, my eyes caught the picture above, which accompanied an article about Sarah Palin. I couldn't put my finger on it right away, but I knew there was a problem with this picture. The caption under it says that during interviews, Palin is hesitant, troubled and clumsy but didn't offer more on where the picture was taken and who was on the right.

All day, I tried to discover what was wrong with the picture. Thanks to Quebec's news station 93,3, which I listen to in the afternoon, I learned what was wrong about it: it's a picture of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in a recent Saturday Night Live sketch! Oops!

The big question, if Jay Leno does indeed go over to ABC when his contract is up with NBC, is what will happen to Jimmy Kimmel? His show has been increasing in ratings and the late night talk show with the most buzz right now, and even if they were to cancel Nightline (a definite possibility), then Kimmel would still be pushed to 12:35 from his 12:05 start. Maybe 30 minutes isn't a lot when you're talking about the age of the universe, but it's a big leap in late night TV.

Kimmel is aware of this, and besides asking questions at the Television Critics Association press conference (as a member of the media), Kimmel is also trying to convince Leno not to come over to his channel. Last Friday he told Leno that he shouldn't come on over to ABC because it's filled with bees, they pay him in Disney dollars (which you can only spend at the theme parks), and every single day his car is keyed.

Leno calls the rumors of him going to ABC "ridiculous." And by ridiculous he means "I'll do it if I'm bored and they want to pay me a ton of money."

Is anyone else out there as excited about Season 3 of Friday Night Lights, which premieres Oct. 1, as I am? Apparently, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning might be, since he's a big fan of the show.

(And if you're a true Colts fan, you'd better watch too -- especially if you're a Nielsen viewer. Or else, um, you might jinx him and cause the team to lose the Super Bowl.)

As you may have heard, FNL will air exclusively on DirecTV this fall (and repeat on NBC in early 2009. Yeah, it's a pain if you don't get DirecTV (like me), but subscribers will be happy to learn they'll be able to watch commercial-free.

(S02E08) "Crab, Duck. Duck, Crab." - Roger, introducing Crab to Duck.

I have a 12-pack of Heineken in my fridge right now. I don't drink it, but my roommate does. So it's fun to see the Sterling Cooper gang going after the beer company.

But can I say that I don't get Betty's reaction at the party when it came to the beer? Sure, this is just one more thing that she feels Don "deceives" her about, but I don't think he was doing anything particularly bad to her. What is nasty are the boldfaced lies that he tells her when she confronts him about his affair with Bobbie. Though I wonder, what else can he do? I know, I know, tell the truth. But given what the truth is, he probably feels that he has to lie or he's going to be that guy in the credits, falling from the sky as his world collapses beneath him.

For years Seth MacFarlane has worked in the small animated universe that contains Family Guy, American Dad and soon The Cleveland Show (with some wading in the Robot Chicken pool). During that time he has provided voice and picture to the trials and tribulations of two typical American families. Yet, deep down inside, you knew that he wanted to do more than work with the Griffins and the Smiths. You could see it with in the amount of fantasy sequences placed during a typical episode of Family Guy.

Now, thanks to a combination of Internet and fast food, Seth is getting his chance to explore the world outside of his FOX Sunday night offerings. YouTube -- the dusty video cabinet of the World Wide Web -- will be hosting all new MacFarlane cartoon shorts under the short title Set MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. Sponsored by fast food giant Burger King (and featuring the giant-headed king in the opening sequence), the YouTube channel will show one to two-minute cartoons featuring all new characters and scripts. According to a press release sent to TV Squad, there will be 50 shorts that are custom-made for the web (and eventual DVD release, I'm sure.)

Fans of the short-lived ABC comedy Sports Night were disappointed when the DVD set for the show came out in 2002. We were really happy that there was indeed a complete series set for the show, but there wasn't any extras in the set at all. No commentaries, no features, no interviews, no booklet. Some people even reported that the discs didn't work that well, that they would stop and start or freeze altogether on some DVD players (I have the old set and never had this problem). Fans were happy to have the show, but still wanted more.

Well, now we do. Shout! Factory has released a new 10th Anniversary set for the show, and all of the the extras that were missing in that set are here, and then some.

I thought I'd get this in before we get too far away from the Republican National Convention.

Conan O'Brien sent Triumph The Insult Comic Dog to St. Paul last week to cover the convention, and as usual the results are hilarious. He manages to get an interview with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Well, at first Cooper just sends him a note from across the convention hall (I won't spoil for you what the note says) but Triumph finally gets a face-to-face interview with Cooper, where he lays down an awesome dig at MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews that Cooper laughs at (Cooper should be looking at Triumph during the interview but keeps looking at Robert Smigel instead).

Triumph also gets Wolf Blitzer. Actually, Wolf doesn't talk to Triumph, but that doesn't stop the dog from thanking Blitzer for keeping his porn name even after he got into journalism. There's also a mention of Law and Order, thanks to Fred Thompson, and he screams to Greta van Susteren and other pundits and hosts.

After the jump is the video (in two parts).

If you're Alexis Stewart, daughter of domestic goddess Martha Stewart; your childhood was weird. It's an unavoidable fact; no one could grow up around that much tulle and handmade, hand-stamped wrapping paper and escape without any lasting effects. Luckily, Alexis has been able to use this to her advantage. Along with her friend Jennifer Koppelman Hutt, Alexis Stewart is mining her experiences growing up with Martha for her new show, Whatever, Martha.

When I first heard about Whatever, Martha, I laughed. Seriously; it sounded like one of those ideas you come up with at three in the morning after downing a family sized bottle of Cabernet. Kind of an, "oh my God, I just had the best idea for a show: what if we sat around and watched old episodes of Martha Stewart Living and tried to do the crafts while I talk about how screwed up my childhood was and how Martha always forgot my birthdays and stuff" kind of idea. Starting on September 16, that 3 am idea is going to become a reality -- and we have video.

Papa Bear bless the No Fact Zone for pointing out this gem, just as Colbert Report fans prepared for yet another week of reruns and the accompanying nights of non-stop sobbing. Those tired of trying to scour the Comedy Central website for specific clips of the show can now visit this handy page of what looks like all the Colbert Report episodes online. My goodness, it's like the greatest satire-related September Christmas ever.

(S02E07) "You're not like everyone else around here." - Ken, to Sal

So Don Draper used to be a car salesman?

I guess it fits with the career path of an advertising guy, and ties in nicely with the plot of Don getting a new car because he's moving up in the world of business in general and Sterling Cooper specifically. There's a big unresolved issue in this episode though. I'm really glad they brought it up but a little disappointed that they didn't follow through with it, though I'm sure we'll see more of the plot in later episodes this season.

It could actually change the entire direction of the show.