TVSquad

• At 5, TBS has the Rays/White Sox game, followed by the Red Sox/Angels game.
  
• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then a new Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, followed by new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Life.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, followed by a new Prison Break.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Vikings vs. the Saints.
• Also at 8:30: Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate, then a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising The Bar.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

You know the one I'm talking about. After the writers strike ended last year in February, most of the networks made the interesting decision to just go ahead and shelve most of their freshmen series for the season, even if they'd picked up their "back nine" orders. Instead, they thought they'd launch the shows to big fanfare this fall, almost as if they were new again. Unfortunately, it looks like this plan backfired on them tremendously.

Across the board, those sophomore series that went on hiatus for more than six months are way down in the ratings. Apparently, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder when it comes to the television landscape. It makes the instant gratification generation forget you existed. And stop caring.

Years ago it was Seinfeld ruling the quotable roost in television sitcom world. You know you'll never forget "close talkers" or the meaning of "spongeworthy." But for the first time since then, I've found a show I truly think is quoteworthy. Its closet competitor lines-wise is How I Met Your Mother which follows it on Monday night. But The Big Bang Theory rules over that show these days for me.

Some of Sheldon's (played stupendously by Jim Parsons) lines are a bit convoluted to remember and I really am not Louis (oops!) Bill Nye, the Science Guy. However, overall the show's writers deserve kudos for a job well done. Read on past the jump for some of the best lines I've found from the show.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then a new Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, followed by new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• FOX has new episodes of Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break.
• NBC has the season premiere of Chuck at 8, then a new Heroes and the season premiere of Life.
• There's a new Gossip Girl on The CW at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Ravens vs. the Steelers.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising the Bar.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, NBC has the Heroes Countdown special at 8, followed by the two-hour Heroes season premiere.
• ABC has the two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars at 8, then the season premiere of Boston Legal.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, followed by a new Prison Break.
• CBS has the season premiere of Big Bang Theory at 8, then the season premieres of How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, the series premiere of Worst Week, and the season premiere of CSI: Miami.
• The CW has new episodes of Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.
• E!'s Fashion Police discuss the Emmy dresses at 8.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Curb Appeal.
• Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate at 8:30, then a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising The Bar.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Wait a second: Honey West is out on DVD?! And it's not even one of those lame "Season 1, Volume 2" deals it's an actual complete series? I never thought this show would come out on DVD (Quark I thought might because of its cult status), but I find myself saying that less and less these days, and that's a good thing.

As for It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, that's not one of my favorite animated holiday specials, but I think I'll get it so I can say I have them all.

• Arthur - Season 11
• Big Bang Theory - Season 1
• Charlie Brown - It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Cheers - Season 10
• Desperate Housewives - Season 4
• Doctor Who - The Invisible Enemy with K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend and The Invasion of Time
• Eli Stone - Season 1
• Faerie Tale Theatre - Complete Series
• Ghost Hunters - Live
• Ghost Whisperer - Season 3
• Honey West - Complete Series
• Life - Season 1
• Little People, Big World - Season 2, Vol. 1
• Living with Ed - Season 2
• The Office - Season 4
• Quark - Complete Series
• Supernatural - Season 3

When Johnny Galecki joined the cast of Roseanne to be the love interest for the dour Darlene (Sara Gilbert), I thought they had a wonderful chemistry together. In fact, it was his turn on that show that lead to me ever even tuning into his new hit show The Big Bang Theory. Well, that and the fact that it was populated with people who reminded me more of myself and many of my college friends than I should probably admit.

It was quite a treat when Gilbert appeared in three episodes throughout the last season as acerbic Leslie Winkle, intellectual equal to Galecki's Leonard, and just as socially out there. The chemistry between the two was immediate, and I found the dominance she established in their relationship to be a blast. The fact that this nerdy chick was more alpha male than any of the four male leads in the series is brilliant. So Sara Gilbert joining the cast of The Big Bang Theory as a series regular is a great move for the show.

When I was talking to Carter Bays and Craig Thomas at CBS' TCA party, they told me about how another reporter mentioned that Chuck Lorre, creator of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, is also known for writing and performing the theme song for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. None of us could believe it, and we were intent on spreading this little rumor to whoever we could find. But, in my role as "tenacious entertainment reporter," I wanted to find out from the man himself. So when I spotted Lorre later on in the evening, I made a beeline for him and asked him. When he confirmed the rumor, I whipped out my voice recorder, dumbfounded at the news.

"I was a musician for 17 years before I got into television," said Lorre. "I was just a working musician, and I was trying to get a break as a songwriter. And back in the '80s I got a shot to write the music for this six episode trial run of this weird little animated thing, based on a garage comic. You know, a black-and-white little comic book. And we said 'Absolutely! We'd love to! We'll take any shot.' "

Day two at Comic-Con began with a panel featuring the stars of the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory. A logical choice for a comic book and science fiction convention since the show focuses on a group of, um, nerds. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course!

Actually, according to creator Chuck Lorre, he never intended to make a show about nerds and geeks. His main intention was to air a show about remarkable people. So he said during the very entertaining panel featuring Lorre, co-creator Bill Prady, and the entire cast of the show. A summary of what went down can be seen after the jump.

The first day of the combined CBS / CW / Showtime part of the tour kicked off with the executive session from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. Before she got on stage, the network showed a montage of their shows. It was then I realized, "Boy, I really don't watch anything on this network, do I?" I mean, outside of the Monday comedies and The Price is Right, there isn't one show on the Eye net that I tune in on a regular basis.

Anyway, she addressed the departure of William Peterson from CSI, just about right off the bat, giving the gathered writers a clue as to the nature of the character who will be coming in to fill his void. Oh, and Tassler is studying to become a cantor. For some reason, a reporter asked her about that.

Are you anxiously awaiting news of who was in that SUV that exploded? Still fraught with worry over how Gibbs is going to get his team back together? Or maybe you are just excited that Survivor is finally going to be beamed into your living room in glorious HD. Well, you can start making plans for your fall scheduling now. The eye network has released the schedule of premieres for their new and returning shows.

I'm a little concerned about two things on the schedule. First, The New Adventures Of Old Christine and Project Gary lead into Criminal Minds on Wednesday nights. That's an odd pairing, and I don't think bodes well for either of the comedies. And second, The Unit gets shuffled off to Sunday at 10? NCIS and The Unit have done remarkably well paired up on Tuesdays. Good for The Mentalist, not so much for The Unit. The whole thing kicks off with Survivor on September 18th. The rest of the schedule is after the jump.

• TNT has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by the season premiere of The Bachelorette (God help us all).
• CBS has the season finales of Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• FOX has the season finale of Bones at 8, then the season finale of House.
• NBC has a new American Gladiators at 8, then a new Dateline.
• The CW has the season finale of Gossip Girl at 8, followed by the season finale of One Tree Hill.
• There's a new Antiques Roadshow on PBS at 8.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World starting at 8.
• Also at 8: ABC Family has a new Greek, then a new Wildfire.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new Heavyweights.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs.
• MTV has two new episodes of Life of Ryan at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• TV Land has the M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion Special at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives.
• MTV has a new episode of The Paper at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Samantha Who? and The Bachelor.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and CSI: Miami.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• NBC has a new, two hour Deal Or No Deal and a new Medium.
• There's a new Gossip Girl on The CW at 8, then a new One Tree Hill.
• PBS has a new Antiques Roadshow at 8, then new episodes of American Experience and Great Performances.
• ABC Family has a new Greek at 8, followed by a new America's Prom Queen.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 8.
• Also at 8: TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new Heavyweights.
• At 9, VH-1 has a new Flavor of Love.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new Unwrapped.
• At 10, MTV has a new episode of The Hills, then a new episode of The Paper.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Do you like trailers? Does the idea of a quick wrap up of what you missed in previous episodes make sense to you? Are you a fan of clip shows, i.e. an episode devoted to highlights from past shows? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're likely going to be really happy about this: Eyelab has been re-editing programming into mini-versions of CBS shows for distribution online. TV Squad had a report about this a while back, but now it's fully operational. Take a look at this Real Hollywood Story/The New Adventures of Old Christine mini, which is posted after the jump.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by a new Bachelor.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Old Christine, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of My Dad Is Better Than You Dad, Deal Or No Deal, and Medium.
• ABC Family has a new Greek at 8, followed by a new America's Prom Queen.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new Heavyweights.
• At 9, FOX has a new New Amsterdam.
• The CW has a new Pussycat Dolls at 9.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• GSN has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• At 9:30, HBO Comedy has a One Night Stand featuring Bill Hicks.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup Presents at 10.
• MTV has two new episodes of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.