TVSquad

(S04E01) Kathy Griffin is back, or as I choose to call her now Emmy Girl. Yes, the Emmy is on full display. In your face, everyone, Kathy's got an Emmy! Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List won the Emmy last year and if this first episode is a sample of what season four has in store, that Emmy is going to get a companion. This show is riotous. And irreverent and a perfect blend of comedy and celebrity reality which is really unreality because how many of us interact with Anderson Cooper and Michael Moore?

Kathy Griffin has found the perfect genre for her particular brand of comedy. A sitcom wouldn't capture her true character, strict stand-up is not her best venue (although she's gotten very good at it), and a talk show would force her to chat with others and appear interested. The My Life on the D-List format works for her and she's found a way to incorporate stand up, situation comedy and guests into a reality hour that highlights her being funny. She has supporting players -- Team Griffin, Jessica, Tiffany, Tom and Kathy's adorable mom, Maggie -- as her comic foils and partners in crime.

Product placement is everywhere, inescapable. According to Dr. Jean Kilbourne, author of Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, Americans are exposed to approximately 3000 advertisements every single day. Kilbourne has a compelling video called Killing Us Softly that reveals how insidious advertisements are. Ads tell us that women should be thinner, quieter, nicer, want to have cleaner houses. They tell us that men are boarish, lust after women while drinking cheap beers, and order endless rounds of pizza without ever developing a gut. Advertisements not only tell us what we should buy: They tell us how we should think and feel about things and who we should be.

Unfortunately, the price of our entertainment is advertisements. Even when you go to the movies these days, before you have seen any previews, you have seen six commercials for new phones from Verizon and Sprint; and you have paid handsomely for the privilege. This TV Squad Award is amusing, but it is also a testament to how ubiquitous ads are: They have now found their way into the very scripts of some of our very best shows. The only advantage shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica have is that they mostly take place anachronistically, so advertising would stand out too ridiculously. However, sadly, other outstanding shows have succumbed. And one of the finest is TV Squad's choice to win this award.

Now I know that none of our readers would do anything like this, but apparently there are people out there who just love to download and watch television via BitTorrent. In fact, 50% of BitTorrent activity is apparently the downloading of television shows, with literally millions of downloads for each episode of those top shows. The folks over at TorrentFreak compiled a list of the Top 10 BitTorrented television shows for the week of May 25 - June 1.

I'm not surprised at all to see shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Lost and Battlestar Galactica among the top of these rankings. Just think of the kind of audience these types of shows are likely to draw. It's unfortunate that this list couldn't have been compiled a few weeks ago when most of the broadcast networks were still streaming new episodes. So You Think You Can Dance ranked pretty well, but I wonder if American Idol would have been tops here as well. Further into the list were some even more interesting choices.

The 2008 Best New Female Vocalist of the Year, Taylor Swift, is set to perform on Nashville Star as part of the show's two-hour season premiere. Touted as the first country music star of the MySpace generation, Swift (18) is also the first female country artist to write or co-write every song on her debut platinum-selling album. One of country music's youngest songwriters, her single "Our Song" spent six weeks atop Billboard's country chart.

The show's premiere will also feature highlights from the auditions and reveal the Top 12 Finalists who will be crooning their way into your hearts this summer. I know Nashville Star sounds like the country music version of American Idol but judge John Rich begs to differ. Read what he said about the show, any comparisons to Idol, and Paula Abdul back the NBC / Universal summer press event held in May.

Nashville Star premieres on Monday June 9th, 9-11 p.m. ET, on NBC. Will you be watching?

(S03E14) "I am deceptively strong." Dr. Zach Addy
"I'm... deceived." Dr. Cameron Saroyan

This was a very lighthearted and playful episode, particularly after the gravitas of last week's trial. Not only was it a great send-up of FOX's sister show, American Idol, making light fun of the show and its contestants, but there was also a lot of joking around and funny moments, reminiscent of the best of Bones' first two seasons with the Squint Squad. It was nice to see them back in full force this episode. Simultaneously, there were plenty of clues from the beginning of the episode about what was going to happen. But I'll talk about that in a minute. Can we talk about Eric Millegan first? Did you know that he actually is a cabaret singer, and he has an act in LA, as well as a Broadway history pre-dating the show?

It seems we can't get through a season of American Idol without Paula doing something nutty. Whether it's dating a contestant or giving bad interviews or just being wacky. These events inevitably lead to an allegation that Paula has a drinking problem or is on drugs or something equally scandalous.

Some people seem to get very angry when these allegations start flying. These folks are fans of Paula and AI and therefore feel that they must defend her in any way they can. They make up excuses for her behavior which range from sleep deprivation to technical problems. Unfortunately none of them ever admit the truth:

The pressure was turned up a notch this week as each of the couples had to do two complete numbers for the first time. The results of all their hard work left the judges scores landing all over the map, from 21 to 29. Jonathan is back this week with his take on all of the performances, and some thoughts on those confusing scores.

We also got to a number of reader questions. So, read on past the jump to find out which celebrity is on Jonathan's partner wish list, how he got involved with the show, what some of his favorite musical numbers were, just what makes the foxtrot so hard, and what Jonathan thinks of the possibility that Paula Abdul would be on the show. Oh, and there is also a bit of a teaser about what the future might hold for our favorite pro.

Just when you thought awards shows couldn't get any longer, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced that reality show hosts are eligible to receive Emmys. This year's 60th Annual Emmy Awards will include a category called Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program.

The academy named popular hosts like Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, Samantha Harris, and Howie Mandel as possible nominees. Ty Pennington, Tyra Banks, and Jeff Foxworthy are also eligible. I'm not surprised that reality hosts are getting this opportunity. The Emmys have had categories for Outstanding Reality Program and Reality-Competition Program since 2001 and 2003, respectively.

The LA Times ran a piece yesterday stating that American Idol's ratings are down for the first time in its seven-year run, with a 7% lag this season. Hmm, seven years and a 7% lag-- does that mean the show's viewers are showing signs of a seven-year itch?

The Times story reported that shows typically show signs of a crack in the ratings veneer between seasons five and seven, which means that it is probably really smart for shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica to determine their own ending dates, well before their ratings start to drop. Granted, a 7% decrease is not really anything to write home about. Simon, Paula, and Randy don't have to start paddling quite yet.

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have How to Look Good Naked, Fit to Live and other new shows.

Last night I went to a taping of the second installment of Idol Gives Back at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. This year the charities that benefited were Malaria No More, Children's Defense Fund, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Children's Health Fund, and Save the Children.

Keep in mind, there will be spoilers. It's not like I found out the secret to Lost, but I figured I would still give fair warning. The show will air on Wednesday April 9th at 7:30 pm ET / PT. For what happened at the taping and in the press room, read on after the jump. And check back for Jason's review Wednesday night.

Here is an unimpeachable truth: anyone who wants to be president probably shouldn't be president. If you spend $400,000,000 for a $400,000 a year job, you're either stupid or corrupt or (most likely) both. In an ideal world, a presidential hopeful accepts the nomination with reluctance, George Washington style.

It's with this in mind that I'd like to start a movement to draft the one man who I think can turn this country around. The one man who has the credibility and the credentials to unite a society fractured by war and recession. The one man who connects with young and old; gay and straight; really, really gay and butchy gay. That's right, I'd like to nominate Simon Cowell for president.

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Big Brother, The Biggest Loser, I'm With the Band and other new shows.

You can call it the beginning of a beautiful relationship, or it may seem like a license to print money, but any way you view it, today's announcement that Apple will be the signature sponsor for Fox's American Idol -- that Apple will have exclusive audio and video performance download rights for AI -- is huge. The deal, effective immediately, ensures that all Idol performance downloads will now only be available on Apple's iTunes store. In addition, iTunes will sponsor online streaming of contestant performances on the official American Idol web site. Each and every time you click on the AI site, you'll see links for iPods and iTouches and iPhones, all the cool players and gadgets that Apple sells. And every time you click on the Apple site, you'll see links to Idol.

Have you ever read TV Squad and said to yourself, "Hey, I wish there was a speedy, five minute podcast about this site hosted by someone with a mildly annoying South Jersey accent?" If you have, there are two things you should know: 1) your prayers have been answered and 2) you're a dangerously deranged person. Seriously, you should talk to someone before your problems get out of hand.

But before you do that, you should go ahead and download our brand new weekly podcast, TV5. Every Friday I'll be bringing you a five minute rundown of five of our most interesting stories. Why five? Because we here at TV Squad like prime numbers and TV34301 seemed like overkill. Enjoy!

(Music provided courtesy of Kevin MacLeod.)