According to the New York Times, Comcast is set to own NBC Universal and all channels that are part of it as early as next week.
This could change the entire television landscape and pretty much give us less of a selection in terms of entertainment. The rumor is that Comcast is going to keep the cable channels, then sell the NBC network. News Corporation expressed interest in the property, but the Comcast talks progressed along far enough to eliminate other potential buyers. It could be argued that having MSNBC partially owned by the same owners of Fox News is a bit of a conflict of interest.
Who would step forward to buy NBC network? The ratings haven't been great and they did do that silly thing with Jay Leno and their 10 p.m. slot. NBC is too much of a name brand to let fall by the wayside. Who do you think should step up and buy the network?
Apparently, I've gone over to the dark side and have somehow morphed into a person who watches the E! network. I've commented on the Kardashians, Leave it to Lamas, and Chelsea Lately (which I love by the way). I've finally moved to the bottom of the barrel -- The Girls Next Door.
Here's the thing about this show. Who really knows what goes on when the cameras are turned off (or possibly, we don't want to know), but it seems like Hugh Hefner is a really nice guy. All of his girlfriends and ex-girlfriends have only good things to say about him, and they rave about how cool it is to live at the Playboy mansion.
And if you can get past the part where he has several girlfriends at the same time, and is, like, 103 years old creepily having sex with 19-year-old girls (if he can still have sex, that is), he just seems like a nice guy. The kindly grandfather girls have sex with. Oh, and he loves to scrapbook.
I caught an episode of E!'s new reality show, Leave It To Lamas, the other night. All I could think was, 'Does anyone really care about these people?' Maybe that's the point. We don't care, and thus don't mind watching them all implode.
I'm betting that a lot of people have never even heard of the Lamas family. I remember Lorenzo from Falcon Crest; now he looks like a washed-up porn star. His daughter, Shayne, was recently proposed to by Matt Grant on The Bachelor: London Calling (the engagement is off -- I'm guessing it was all done for publicity for this show).
Actor, comedian and classically trained suit wearer Joel McHale has taken his talent for riffing to the next level.
The star of The Soup and the upcoming NBC sitcom Community has joined forces with Michael J. Nelson's Rifftrax.comto provide a running comedy commentary for the perennial craptastic 80s classic Red Dawn. Nelson announced the guest commentary on the Rifftrax site and his Twitter blog earlier this week.
Rifftrax, for those who may not be familiar with the site and are therefore in no way cool, is the comedy website that provides downloadable MP3s of funny movie commentaries featuring the voices and talents of the minds behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 including Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. It is the only reason I still own all three Matrix films, that and the fact that my desk is missing part of a leg.
Everybody knows Kendra as one of Hugh Hefner's former girlfriends. The one-time stars of E!'s The Girls Next Door have left the mansion and moved on to their own projects. Bridget Marquardt has moved on to her own Travel Channel show, Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, while Holly Madison was just on Dancing with the Stars. It looks like E! went the right route by choosing to follow the youngest and wackiest of the bunch, Kendra Wilkinson.
Her self-titled new show premiered Sunday on E!, and Kendra set a ratings high not seen since the premiere of The Anna Nicole Showin 2002 with 2.6 million viewers. People love their former Playmates, apparently. As an admitted follower of The Girls Next Door; my wife has a thing for all things Playboy and I got sucked in despite myself; Kendra was always the girl that I found the most annoying. She was so childish and superficial... and that laugh! Oh my god, that laugh made me want to reach through the screen and strangle her! So no one was more surprised than me to find that I actually enjoyed this premiere.
If we're going to have inane, sleazy, stupid shows like Access Hollywood on TV, it's good to have shows like The Soup, too. Here Joel McHale takes on Access Hollywood and their coverage last week of that story where a Britney Spears fan jumped on stage and scared the hell out of her. It actually makes you feel sorry for Spears.
After the continued rumors of Jewel pulling out of the competition, it's confirmed. But there's worse news: Nancy O'Dell is dropping out as well. O'Dell tore her meniscus, while Jewel suffered from tibia fractures.
I'm not sure if the professionals are pushing the performers too hard or if casting doesn't do physicals for these celebrities. Twisting an ankle during the competition is one thing, but having a pre-existing condition is another. I even thought that casting Toni Braxton last season was in bad taste, but the dancing actually helped her heart condition.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. E! Television has ordered a new reality television pilot that is similar to Sci Fi's Ghost Hunters in its premise with one notable difference: all the investigators are hot girls.
The fanbase for this show can be split into two groups: those that love hot women and those that hate hot women. The lovers will watch it for the eye candy and the haters will watch to see the eye candy humiliate themselves on camera (which is the purpose of 99% of the reality shows on television anyway).
This sounds like a movie by Adam Sandler's production company. It's The House Bunny meets Ghostbusters. Granted, the women are simply competing for a $10,000 prize and not doing any actual investigation. This is such a humorous premise that I would expect it to end with a Blair Witch parody by having one of the women standing in the corner while the camera falls down.
I admit, I still watch At The Movies. Though I miss both Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, I like having a weekly film review show that I can turn to. Of course, the show is a bit of a mess, and film critics Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz don't have a tenth the influence (or movie knowledge) of Ebert, but I still find myself tuning in every Sunday night.
Other people are turning in each week too, only they dislike the show even more than I do. Specifically, they can't stand new critic Ben Lyons, son of Jeffrey and the host of several other shows on TV, including Nickelodeon's My Family's Got Guts.
He also reviews movies and does entertainment reporting for E! Fans think he's a "quote whore" (he's the guy who called I Am Legend "one of the greatest movies ever made"), too buddy-buddy with celebrities, and only got the job because he's the son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons. These people have even started a web site, StopBenLyons.com.
There are several reasons E! has decided to do this, none of which involve torture. It could be that her high-profile feud with ex-husband and TV star Charlie Sheen (which is slightly dated news particularly since the man remarried) has kept her name in the public light. It could simply be the current nature of the business in which a horrible economy is giving second chances to shows that wouldn't have been picked up otherwise. It could have just been a tactic by Richards herself to guarantee a second season.
For those who liked the show, you are blessed with Denise Richards once again sharing her life with you. For those who didn't, watch more Two and a Half Men in protest.
Chelsea Lately is the late night talk show that never gets any attention. That's probably because it's on E! and that's probably a network that TV viewers don't think about when they think of late night television, but let's be honest, it's a lot better than Last Call with Carson Daly (plus it's on a lot earlier). And Chelsea Handler is a genuinely funny person. Her book of comic essays Are You There, Vodka? It's Me Chelsea is quite good, though I haven't read her first book about all of the one night stands she has had. Sounds funny though. She was also on Girls Behaving Badly, but we can forgive her for that.
In terms of compelling celebrity reality shows, Denise Richards thought she had a great story to tell. Her life seemed very complicated, what with her fights with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and their legal wrangling over their children, it seemed like a compelling product.
Umm...no, it wasn't.
Today, E! pulled the plug on Denise Richards It's Complicated, her attempt to keep up with the Kardashians and outdo the Hogans. The bottom line with Denise's show was that it really wasn't that complicated. It was dull.
Her family appeared as her supporting players, including her father who -- like his children -- is still mourning the loss of his wife, Denise's mom. Those moments in the show were sad, but a little went a long way.
Denise's getting in the middle of the employment issues with her assistants was hardly great TV, nor was watching Denise driving in Beverly Hills. And, yes, the ratings were declining week after week.
Allison told you yesterday that both Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper were leaving their film review show, At The Movies. Ebert has been off the show since 2006 because of health problems and Roeper couldn't come to terms on a new contract. They both explained that Buena Vista wants to take the show in a new direction and that they wouldn't be a part of it. Here is that new direction.
The new hosts of At The Movies are Ben Mankiewicz, a host on TCM, and Ben Lyons, from E!. Not sure how these two got to be the new hosts, other than the fact that they're both named Ben and I'm sure we'll see some cute reference to that, maybe even in the ads or the intro. I like the fact that Mankiewicz is from TCM; makes it sound like he knows what he's talking about (he's also the son of Frank Mankiewicz and the grandson of the guy who wrote Citizen Kane). But Lyons looks about 14 years-old and comes from a network with celeb gossip and reality shows, so that has me a little worried.
Then again, he's the son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons (the host of his own movie review show, Reel Talk), so maybe it's in his blood. But the article above says he called I Am Legend one of the greatest films ever made? Yikes.
Keeping Up follows Khloe, her sister Kourtney and the infamous Kim Kardashian as they deal with their family (mom Kris Jenner is married to former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner) and life in LA as they try to stay in the public eye. Previous episodes have dealt with the fallout from Kim's sex tape, Kourtney's underage naked photos, and Khloe's DUI arrest. As Lisa Berger, E!'s executive VP original programming and series development understates, "There is never a shortage on drama, and we are certain the new season will be another wild ride,"
People are definitely watching. While its numbers would get a network show canceled in a heartbeat, Keeping Up with the Kardashians' 1.6 million viewer average makes it a hit on E! Ten episodes have been ordered for season 3, which will premiere early next year.
Fans of skanktastic television will love this news. Kim Kardashian and her ass, both stars of E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians, are launching a line of perfume. She announced this news on her blog, which, by the way, is one of my favorite blogs. It's wonderfully delusional and self-congratulatory.
I'll indulge you in a sample, "It has always been a dream of mine to start my own perfume business, since I love to mix fragrances together and come up with new and different scents! I hope you understand my total excitement as I let you, the readers of my blog, become the first to know that I am creating my own fragrance!!!" I love the emboldened words and gratuitous use of exclamation points.
According to the New York Times, Comcast is set to own NBC Universal and all channels that are part of it as early as next week.
Actor, comedian and classically trained suit wearer Joel McHale has taken his talent for riffing to the next level. 
Everybody knows Kendra as one of Hugh Hefner's former girlfriends. The one-time stars of E!'s The Girls Next Door have left the mansion and moved on to their own projects. Bridget Marquardt has moved on to her own Travel Channel show, Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, while Holly Madison was just on Dancing with the Stars. It looks like E! went the right route by choosing to follow the youngest and wackiest of the bunch, Kendra Wilkinson.
After the continued rumors of Jewel pulling out of the competition, 
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. E! Television has ordered a new reality television pilot that is similar to Sci Fi's Ghost Hunters in its premise with one notable difference: 
I admit, I still watch At The Movies. Though I miss both Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, I like having a weekly film review show that I can turn to. Of course, the show is a bit of a mess, and film critics Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz don't have a tenth the influence (or movie knowledge) of Ebert, but I still find myself tuning in every Sunday night.
I guess it IS complicated.
Chelsea Lately is the late night talk show that never gets any attention. That's probably because it's on E! and that's probably a network that TV viewers don't think about when they think of late night television, but let's be honest, it's a lot better than Last Call with Carson Daly (plus it's on a lot earlier). And Chelsea Handler is a genuinely funny person. Her book of comic essays Are You There, Vodka? It's Me Chelsea is quite good, though I haven't read her first book about all of the one night stands she has had. Sounds funny though. She was also on Girls Behaving Badly, but we can forgive her for that.
In terms of compelling celebrity reality shows, Denise Richards thought she had a great story to tell. Her life seemed very complicated, what with her fights with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and their legal wrangling over their children, it seemed like a compelling product. 
Allison told you yesterday that 
Sure, going to jail may be a poor life choice, but when you're a reality TV star, it's certainly not going to hurt your career. Despite the fact that 
Fans of skanktastic television will love this news. Kim Kardashian and her ass, both stars of E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians, are 
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
