TVSquad

For the first time in a long time, something was different about the Daytime Emmys. No, it's not that they're on in primetime; that happened years ago. What was different was the 35th Daytime Emmys opted to forgo the theater setting and seat the stars at round tables. As co-host (with All My Children's Cameron Mathison) Sherri Shepherd told the AP days before the AP, "Usually everyone is sitting in a row. This year, it'll be like a wedding. We're also going to do something so that fans will be able to get a view of what's going on at the different tables." That would be web video created by the actors at every table - table cam. Perfect for hams. The vids are at SOAPnet. For details about the show from the winners backstage, check out AOL.

So did the seating arrangements make a difference? Well, it depends. Those who were there probably had a better time because there was an open bar, just like the Golden Globes. For viewers, it still looked like the Daytime Emmys, including many familiar faces winning. After a strained attempt at comedy for the opening -- blending All My Children fictional characters with The View's real hosts -- the show commenced.

The Daytime Emmys are coming. The nominations have been announced and ABC plans to broadcast the award presentation on June 20 at 8 p.m. (EST) with Sherri Shephard and Cameron Mathison sharing the hosting duties. One of the things that invariably drives soap fans nuts is not being able to see the Emmy submissions; that is, the actual shows that the Blue Ribbon Panels are seeing when they choose the Emmy winner from the set of nominees.

Well, in a landmark move -- one more reason to love the web -- the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has teamed with YouTube to create venue to see most of the nominating clips and judge for yourself. That's what I've done and I've decided to handicap the big Daytime Emmys contests. Tell me what you think, if you judge these clips the way I have.

Well, the Daytime Emmy nominations were not exactly soul-stirring -- lots of repeat nominees, the same old, same old -- so the producers of the Emmy broadcast are trying to inject something new: that means new hosts. Call them the newest odd couple. Cameron Mathison will team up with Sherri Shepherd to co-host the ABC broadcast of the 35th Annunal Daytime Emmy Awards on June 20. Not coincidentally, Cameron and Sherri are ABC stars. He's Ryan Lavery on All My Children (and a former contestant on Dancing with the Stars); she's one of the five talkers on The View. And if you think they didn't ask Whoopi Goldberg first, you don't know TV.

He's an actor, a pin-up hunk, he's tried Dancing With the Stars, and now he'll see what it's like to be a Jim Lange or Wink Martindale. Cameron Mathison has been tapped to host TLC's new game show Your Place or Mine? Looking at those eyes, I'd let him redecorate my abode!

"I'm thrilled to be a part of TLC's first game show, and extremely excited about the fun concept," said Mathison. "I think both men and women, of all ages, are really going to enjoy the show because there's a little something in it for everyone." Yeah, TLC is pitching this as a family show. Hmm...we'll see. If it can capture the Trading Spaces vibe, they may be on the right track.

Did you know that baseball players are big-time soap opera fans? It's true. All that time they spend hanging out in the clubhouse during the day, they have the soaps playing in the background. Not all, but a lot. That said, it'll be interesting to see if the same things that sell soaps -- the drama, the relationships, the never-ending stories -- work for ESPN in selling their Fantasy Baseball League. They're calling the series of commercials "Endless Drama."

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today, on TV Squad Daily:

• You can buy private (kind of) dancing lessons from Cameron Mathison!
• Can't afford Cameron? Maybe you can buy a different celebrity with your hotel points.
• Photos with news stories: a sneaky way to be subjective.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

(S05E16)Tom opened the show by calling out Mel and Helio as the two leaders that have emerged. He followed that up by reminding us that this is a season of surprises and anyone could go home. I think that has been very clear since Sabrina was bounced out of the competition, but it's always worth mentioning again. Was week eight another example of fandom over dance? The results, and the rest of the show, after the jump.

(S05E15) If things weren't tense enough before, the next two weeks get really crazy. All five of the teams left in the competition have a legitimate shot to make it into the finals. With the big prize on the line, every last point counts. They can do all the promotional appearances and interviews they want, but the fan vote is a fickle thing that can't be controlled. The only thing they can control is what happens on the dance floor. So now, more than ever, it's time to step up the level of performance. Once again this week, each couple has two dances to perform. It made for a jam packed show and there is a lot of dancing to get to. We'll do just that, after the jump.

(S05E14) This week's Dancing With The Stars results show was, thankfully, what most viewers expected it to be. Compared to last week's surprising elimination, this week's show was fairly run-of-the-mill. The passing of George Osmond resulted in Marie's absence from the episode, but fortunately not from the show itself. The hosts wasted no time in letting Marie and Jonathan off the hook; she was declared safe even before the standard recap of Monday's dances.

(S05E14) The hosts of Dancing With The Stars were doing some major damage control in the wake of Sabrina's elimination. Viewers were warned at least a dozen times to remember to vote for their favorite celebrities. Personally, I think it's sad that people need to be reminded of the basic principles of this show, but oh well. The competition has changed now that Sabrina is gone--it's a battle of the fan bases! This week, the remaining dancers performed two dances, one in the Ballroom style and one in the Latin style. I'm always excited when we reach this point. You get a much better idea of who can handle the pressure and difficulty of learning two routines. As always there were some fun surprises and a few flubs.

(S05E13) Holy crap! Halfway through the fifth season of Dancing With The Stars, I really shouldn't be surprised by things like this. It's something that we have seen before. Still, the results show tonight caught me totally off guard. In my post yesterday about the performance show I said that I didn't agree with Tom's opening line that anyone could go home. I'll take it back now. Anyone can go home, any week. And apparently, anyone left in the competition could win the whole damn thing.

(S05E12) And then there were seven. The competition continues to progress, but it feels just a little different this week. With the exit of Mark Cuban last week, the level of the competition ratcheted up another notch. We're not into the all out race to the finale just yet, but it's getting very close. Tom said in his opening that with one misstep, anyone could go home this week. I'm not sure about 'anyone', but I'll agree that the potential for a shocking result Tuesday night is out there.

(S05E11) Tom opened the results show by noting that this week of Dancing With The Stars was meant to be sexy, but ended up being full of drama. I was disappointed that the footage of Marie fainting was shown again (and again and again). Nothing terrible happened to Marie, but does that justify playing the footage several times more? I thought it was insensitive. Tom added a teaser for the Jennifer Lopez performance (for which I was totally psyched), and warned viewers that "nothing can be taken for granted."

(S05E10) Tom opened the show with the promise that this week's performances would be the sexiest of the season. In what had to have been a shout-out to Edyta, he said "Let's not waste time or fabric." He was certainly right about showing skin. Several of the celebrities and the pros were scantily clad--lots of open shirts from the men and gravity-defying cleavage from the ladies. I caught a glimpse of Tori Spelling in the audience. Those West Beverly alumni are a tight-knit group, aren't they? We're at a good point in the show--very little dead weight, and a lot of the celebrities are showing considerable progress.

(S05E09)Tom opened the show talking about a night where controversy rocked the ballroom. I wouldn't call it so much rocking, as I would annoying, but that's just me. It does appear that some of that will be put to rest now. Len made a point of praising the pros for their excellent work, but warned them that he didn't want to see any more lifts. From here on out, they will incur a penalty from the judges.

They went right to the recap after that. Mark was really happy to be called the little engine that could. Floyd talked about his new experience, calling ballroom dancing better than hip-hop. Mel took the truck driver comment in good stride, asking for the truck driver vote. Jane was left trying to defend the lift again. Jenny ignored that lift nonsense and said she looks forward to continuing to improve. Cameron was excited about his three nines. As you would expect, Sabrina was thrilled to have the first perfect score of the competition.