TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Every week I see tons and tons of TV DVDs released, and the only thing I can think of is "when is _______ going to be released?" Sure, I'll get The Office this week (but borrow someone else's Fringe), but I don't really see anything else that cries out "buy me for your collection!" I'm still waiting for Spenser: For Hire and Ed.

• Alvin & The Chipmunks - Star Wreck
• The Alvin Show - The Very First Alvin Show
• Beany & Cecil - Special Edition: Vol. 2
• Criminal Minds - Season 4
• Dog The Bounty Hunter - Best of Season 5
• Fringe - Season 1

When I first previewed Important Things with Demetri Martin, I was hoping it would get good enough ratings to allow Martin to stick around and explore a little bit. I've enjoyed him as a stand-up comedian, both live and on his Comedy Central specials.

Important Things was the perfect vehicle for Martin, showcasing his absurdist deadpan, allowing him to work with some talented friends like John Oliver, Jon Benjamin, David Cross, and Amanda Peet, and even letting him play a musical number or two.

Since programming anything new is probably a waste on a holiday weekend, Comedy Central is programming roughly 4,000 previously aired stand-up specials (okay, just 40, but that's a lot) from some of the biggest names on its rosters, including Dane Cook, Jeff Dunham, Katt Williams, Louis C.K., Lewis Black, Brian Regan, Demetri Martin, Ron White, Lisa Lampanelli, and Jim Gaffigan. They'll also sprinkle in some of their Comedy Central Presents half-hour showcases. It's called the Stand-Up Blowout Weekend.

The first special is at 3 PM - Aisha Tyler is Lit: Live at the Fillmore and end, officially, with Drew Hastings: Irked and Miffed at 3 AM Monday morning. Sunday at 10PM is the network premiere of Dave Attell: Captain Miserable, which originally aired on HBO on December 8, 2007.

Comedy Central has renewed Important Things with Demetri Martin for a second season. If you haven't seen the show, here are some clips from the "Games" episode (every episode has a theme that dominates each sketch and joke). Martin can also be seen in Ang Lee's new film Taking Woodstock this summer and also the film version of Moneyball next year.

Important Things with Demetri Martin
Games - Emotional Escape Artist
comedycentral.com

• At 8, ABC has a new Scrubs, followed by new episodes of Better Off Ted, Lost, and Life on Mars.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of The Chopping Block, Life, and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new, two-hour American Idol at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• PBS has a new Great Performances at 8.
• Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force at 8.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10, then the season finale of Important Things with Demetri Martin.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has the season finale of The Real World.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 8, ABC has a new Scrubs, followed by the series premiere of Better Off Ted and new episodes of Lost and Life on Mars.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8.
• NBC has a new Chopping Block at 8, followed by new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
• FOX has new episodes of Lie To Me and American Idol.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8.
• At 9, CBS has a new Criminal Minds, then a new CSI: NY.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, followed by a new Important Things with Demetri Martin.
• FX has a new Damages at 10.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new Real World.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 8, NBC has a new Knight Rider.
• FOX has a new American Idol at 8, then a new Lie To Me.
• The CW has the two-hour season premiere of America's Next Top Model at 8.
• Cartoon Network has the movie Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, followed by a new Life on Mars.
• There's a Top Chef reunion show on Bravo at 9.
• Also at 9: Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 8, NBC has a new Biggest Loser, followed by a new Life.
• FOX has a new, two-hour American Idol at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, then a new Life on Mars.
• CBS has a new Criminal Minds at 9, followed by a new CSI: NY.
• PBS has a new America's Ballroom Challenge at 9.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International at 9.
• At 10, TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
• Bravo has the season finale of Top Chef at 10.
• FX has a new Damages at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• Also at 10: Food Network has Guy's Big Night.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 8, CBS has a new Old Christine, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Knight Rider at 8, followed by new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new American Idol at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, followed by a new Life on Mars.
• PBS has a new American Masters at 9.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• There's a new Spectacle on Sundance Channel at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International at 9.
• Fine Living has a new Whatever, Martha at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Chef.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 7, G4's Attack of the Show reports from the NY Comic Con.
• At 8, NBC has a new Knight Rider, followed by a new Life and a new Law and Order.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• FOX has a new, two-hour American Idol.
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, then a new Life on Mars.
• There's a new Ghost Hunters International on Sci-Fi at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Real World at 10.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has the season premiere of Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

If you've been watching Comedy Central, you may have noticed one of the roughly several thousand ads for the new show, Important Things with Demetri Martin. We also gave you a glimpse of it last week. All the hype can sometimes be a sign of a show in need of propping up. Not so with Important Things. I got a hold of two episodes in advance, and the show is worth watching, or DVRing, if you're one of those people who sometimes leaves the house. The show premieres February 11 at 10:30 PM.

Martin is a talented comedian whose act is built around offbeat one-liners (in the tradition of Steven Wright and, later, Mitch Hedberg). But he's also an artist and musician, incorporating his drawings (through and easel onstage) and songwriting into his stage act. Important Things is a great extension of that, allowing Martin to animate some of his drawings or pay attention to details that couldn't be seen onstage (like a view of the letter "R" from behind that shows its tiny "R" butt), in addition to musical pieces and sketch comedy.

Oh, I've been waiting for this.

It's been a while since we've heard anything about the show that stand up comic Demetri Martin was working on for Comedy Central. But now we not only have a premiere date for Important Things with Demetri Martin (Wednesday, February 11 at 10:30pm and produced by Jon Stewart), we also have a new web site and a bunch of preview videos.

The new sitcom features Martin as the supervisor at a restaurant, where he has to deal with all of the wacky people who work there and all of the crazy customers. He also has a boss who gets on his nerves and a beautiful wife at home.

Kidding! It's not a sitcom at all. It's actually a sketch comedy/stand up show that clearly plays to Martin's strengths (funny observations, absurd humor) and features a lot of his signature pieces, like the Big Pad and musical animation. After the jump is a quick preview of the show, and you can go to the site and watch more preview videos. Check out Jerry Pappas: Time Gigolo.

Remember way back when the news came that comic Demetri Martin was going to get his own weekly show on Comedy Central, one that would be produced by Jon Stewart and his Busboy Productions? It was supposed to debut sometime this year, presumably months ago, but here we are nearing the end of October and still no word on when the show is going to debut.

There's a listing on the IMDb for Important Things with Demetri Martin, and even titles for two episodes, but no dates for when those episodes will be shown (just question marks, and when even the IMDb is confused, we're all in trouble). The Comedy Central site doesn't have any word on the show at all. It's not even listed on the show page, and a search only brings up Martin's specials. Not sure if he's been on The Daily Show lately.

When you think of funny people in America, who do you immediately think of? Stephen Colbert? Robin Williams? Chris Rock? Matt Stone and Trey Parker? How about David Letterman or Dane Cook?

Some of the people above are on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 25 funniest people in America (two of the people above aren't on the list, nor should they be!). Some of the choices are downright baffling (as usual for these lists): Augustun Burroughs? Please. Diablo Cody? Good writer, but one of the funniest in the country based on Juno? But it's good to see the Sedarises on there (both David and Amy), as well as people like Tina Fey and Demetri Martin. There are even two current cast members of Saturday Night Live on the list. Can you guess who they are?

Once you read the list, you can go into the comments and say "why the hell is _________ on the list?!?"

"Bushman of Africa": President Bush recently paid a visit to five countries throughout Africa. He shared his learnings and experiences through a slideshow, keeping it real old-school. Due to his initiatives on malaria, there will be a George W. Bush Day to raise awareness. Was that a joke, Mr. President? I'll pretend it was.

Correspondent John Oliver stopped by to talk about this strange, new caring Bush and expressed his pain in seeing that Bush had it in him to do good all along. Whenever people bash The Daily Show (or the Colbert Report) for being really unfair to Bush, I like to point them to segments like this. Sure, they have a bit of a liberal bias, but they're not afraid to point out the blunders of the Democrats, nor do they shy away from recognizing when Republicans or conservatives have done well. Seriously, these two shows are probably more fair that many mainstream news outlets. Bless their snarky little hearts.