TVSquad

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, then a new Grey's Anatomy and the sneak peek of Traveler.
• CBS has Survivor at 8, followed by new episodes of CSI and Without A Trace (season finale).
• NBC has new, super-sized episodes of My Name Is Earl, The Office, and Scrubs, then a new regular-sized ER.
• There's a new, two-hour Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? (the season finale) on FOX at 8.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Divine Design.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10 (repeated at 10:30).
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has an Ugly Betty clip show, followed by a Grey's Anatomy clip show and the premiere of Notes From The Underbelly.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, then new episodes of CSI and Shark.
• NBC has new episodes of My Name Is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock, Scrubs, and ER.
• There's a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? on FOX at 8.
• At 9, The CW has The BRICK Awards.
• TLC has a new American Chopper at 9.
• At 10, HGTV has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay, then a new Ace of Cakes.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit! at 10, then a new episode of This American Life.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has new, supersized episodes of The Office and 30 Rock, then new episodes of Scrubs and Andy Barker, P.I.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, then new episodes of CSI and Shark.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
• TBS has four good Friends repeats starting at 8.
• USA has the first round of the Masters golf tournament at 8.
• At 9, TLC has a new American Chopper.
• HGTV has a new Divine Design at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new October Road.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has the special The World According To Whoopi.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has a new Survivor, followed by new episodes of CSI and Shark.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
• TBS has one of the great Friends episodes at 8, "The One With All The Thanksgivings."
• At 8:30, Showtime has the documentary Fired! (I read the book, it's quite good.)
• At 9:30, NBC has a new Andy Barker, P.I.
• At 10, ABC has a new October Road.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10, then a new Ace of Cakes.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and October Road.
• CBS has March Madness all night.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• At 9, NBC has a new Scrubs, followed by new episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. and Raines.
• HGTV has a new Divine Design at 9.
• Also at 9: Mario Batali is the subject of a new Chefography on Food Network.
• At 10, Spike has a new Pros vs. Joes.
• TCM has Island in the Sky at 10.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller: Bullshit at 10, followed by a new This American Life.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show With David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by a new Grey's Anatomy and the premiere of October Road.
• CBS has March Madness all night.
• NBC has a "newpeat" of The Office and a new Scrubs, then the premieres of both Andy Barker, P.I. and Raines.
• There's a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8 on FOX.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• At 9, ESPN has a new U.S. Poker Championships, followed by coverage of the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament.
• History Channel has a new Decoding The Past at 9.
• Also at 9: HBO has the Addiction special.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay, then a new Ace of Cakes.
• Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade at 10:30.

Check your local TV listings for more.

I've watched all five episodes of CBS' new comedy Rules of Engagement, mainly because I'm already watching Two and a Half Men at 9. I also watch because Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price are two sitcom actors that I like, and I'm always hoping they'll land in a successful show. But I've got to tell you, the show is barely above average. I chuckle once or twice per episode, mostly in reaction to Warburton's droll line readings. And don't even get me started on the bland "young" couple played by Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich and the sight of David Spade aging before our eyes as yet another version of Dennis Finch.

But for some reason, the show is attracting a pretty good audience. In the LA Times article Bob linked to yesterday, it was noted that Rules is holding on to much of Men's lead-in audience, averaging 13.5 million viewers per week.

While I love all of the stations and choices we have now, I sometimes wish we could go back to just having a handful of channels to choose from. It was so much easier back then: shows started in September and ended in May, and the summer was for reruns, specials, and going outside. But now it's hard to keep track of it all. We have 300 networks and 1000 shows that start, well, basically anytime they want to.

Like The Showbiz Show. The Comedy Central celeb/gossip/news satire hosted by David Spade returns on March 15. Head on over to TV Filter to check out some video with Spade talking about Britney Spears.

Also note that not only is this show returning for its third season, Spade also has a Top 20 show over on CBS, Rules of Engagement. Not a good time to be a David Spade hater. I've always liked the guy. (And if you didn't see it, he live blogged the Oscars last night.)

David Spade will spend Sunday night doing what he does best - making mincemeat out of Hollywood's elite. Comedy Central's The Showbiz Show is hosting its first Oscar Blog. You'll be able to log-on and read real-time Oscar commentary from Spade and the show's writers. You'll also be able to comment and upload your own videos to the site by registering. This is, of course, also a great big publicity push for The Showbiz Show, which has its third season premiere on March 15th.

Whatever you may think of Spade, blogging may be the perfect outlet for his celebrity-aimed snark. Of course, I'm counting on him to avoid drawing urine dribbling out of Ellen's pants leg. That's Perez's gig.

[Via Press Release]

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:

• Give your kids a head start to teen fame (and rehab) with American Idol summer camp.
  
• Donald Trump is planning a lovely wedding chapel/mausoleum on his New Jersey gold course.
  
• Jimmy Fallon could be taking over Conan O'Brien's late night hosting spot in 2009.
  
• The Oscars are on this Sunday! Feeling anti-awards show? David Spade will be live-blogging them.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quick time required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

(S01E01) Take 'Til Death. Add Dennis Finch. Stir.

That's Rules of Engagement in a nutshell. And the result of the mix isn't particularly funny.

CBS is really promoting Rules of Engagement, the new comedy starring David Spade and Patrick Warburton. It seems like they're running an ad for the show on every other TV show that they have. But will this show be a success, or be just another midseason sitcom that gets pulled quickly?

I haven't seen the show yet, but the cast is funny. Both Spade and Warburton are funny no matter what they're in (I have no opinion of Oliver Hudson - not even sure if I've ever seen him in anything before). Warburton was funny in Seinfeld and The Tick, and Spade...well, a lot of people hate him, but I think he's a riot. Sure, he does one thing (horny, slightly sleazy guy with quirks), but he does it really well. Just Shoot Me wouldn't have been the same without his character, and I actually think that he's the reason 8 Simple Rules lasted so long after John Ritter passed away. The dynamic of the show changed and was actually improved somehow after Spade (and James Garner) were brought on board.

So will Rules of Engagement be a surprise hit, or will be just fade away into oblivion? (I guess there's a third option, the Yes, Dear option, where a show no one seems to watch or talk about somehow stays around for 25 years).

Snarky McSarcasm, or as we call him, David Spade, is returning with a third season of The Showbiz Show Thursday, March 15 at 10:30pm.

I have to ask you, TV Squad readers, does anyone still watch this show? I watched the first couple episodes and caught a few of the later ones, but ultimately I just can't bring myself to watch another show that pokes fun at celebrity excess. We've become so saturated with celebrity news and gossip that I can't stand to hear about it, even if the point of the show is to make fun of our obsession with it.

Also, it's difficult for me to get past the feeling that Spade doesn't seem that into what he's doing. When he did his "Hollywood Minute" segment on Saturday Night Live, that detachment worked to his benefit. His comical disdain for all things Hollywood is what made that segment so funny, but now that "comical disdain" seems to have grown into genuine bitterness. When I watch him now, I always feel like he wants to be somewhere else, and, consequently, so do I.

CBS is making room for a new comedy called Rules of Engagement, which is produced by Adam Sandler. Starting February 5th, Rules will have the 9:30 pm timeslot on Monday nights. That's a coveted spot for a comedy, with top-rated Two and a Half Men as a lead-in. The premiere is also the day after CBS airs the Super Bowl, which means you can expect to see a lot of Rules promos during the game.

Rules stars David Spade, Oliver Hudson (Dawson's Creek) and Patrick Warburton ("Puddy" from Seinfeld). It's about two couples and a single guy who "navigate the jungles of dating, engagement and marriage." Moving it into the 9:30 pm slot during sweeps is a vote of confidence on CBS' part.

The move displaces The New Adventures of Old Christine, which be on a brief hiatus in February (they're pulling it for sweeps!). Old Christine will slide into the 8:30 pm slot after March 5th, when The Class finale airs. And it looks like the series finale of King of Queens will air May 21- but that's not definite.

Despite mediocre ratings and equally mediocre reviews (including mine), CBS has been happy enough with The Class to order more episodes of the "half-hour comic-sudser," as Variety so adroitly called it.

But the show is not getting the entire "back nine" just yet. According to that Variety article, CBS is hoping the mid-season show Rules of Engagement, starring David Spade and Patrick Warburton, will work well in the Monday comedy block where The Class currently resides.

Another article, on USAToday.com, says that newer episodes of the show will concentrate on fewer characers.