TVSquad

(S01E13) The summer's officially over on Swingtown, marked by Tom's Labor Day clambake at the shore, which turned out to also be a key party.

Now that the first season of the show has come to an end, it's clear that while they explored hot topics like open marriage, wife-swapping and group sex, the essence of the show was not titillation or a guide page by page through The Joys of Sex. Swingtown was about the characters, three families and the changing times in 1976.

Questions, questions. Will Tom and Trina keep the baby? The Deckers are the open marriage couple and they've enjoyed the freedom to swing. But how amazing is it that they are the marriage that's in synch! They actually talk things out and share what they're thinking. You can't say that about the Thompsons and Millers.

OK, so we've all seen that surreal video of William Shatner "singing" Elton John's "Rocketman" at the 1978 Science Fiction Awards (and Stewie's version), but I bet you probably haven't seen Kojak taking a shot at Bread's "If."

I'm not sure what's scarier: Telly Savalas coming off as Blofeld trying to sing a love song (it's like he's going to announce his plans for world domination, but he has to sing this ode to his girlfriend first) or the giant head of the actress who is on the screen in back of Savalas. It must have been kind of odd to be her, just being told to "just stand there and look like Loretta Swit's sister." Full video after the jump!

As the ranking #2 fan of The Muppets here at TV Squad (Adam definitely has me beat), I'm happy to announce that season two of The Muppet Show will be available on DVD on August 7th. It's been about 2 years since season one came out on DVD and fans have been not-so-patiently waiting for more.

Season two is a 24-episode set with classic guest appearances by Bob Hope, George Burns, John Cleese, Milton Berle, Elton John, Bernadette Peters and Julie Andrews, just to name a few. The bonus material includes The Muppets Valentine Day Special, a pilot which aired two years before The Muppet Show came on air. It features Kermit and Mia Farrow, and is hosted by little-known Muppet 'Wally'.

This was a busy week for Idol. Three group songs for the contestants, two venues for the director, countless celebrities for the agents and enough video clips to keep the editors busy for months. At home on the couch, I felt exhausted.

During the season I can't recall ever not sleeping well. I was so tired at the end of each day -- and we didn't have all the gimmickry of today's Idol. These guys must be going out of their minds.

(S05E14) The up and down season of Family Guy continues, and I thought this one was a bit of a valley, rather than a peak. It had its moments, to be sure, but as a whole, it was somewhat lacking. Peter summed up my feelings for this episode pretty well with his quote after seeing the opening to Maude, "That was an ordeal."

That bit is a good example of what was wrong with this installment. Aside from the fact that it was a reference to a show that you have to be 40 years old, or a tv nutter, to get, it just wasn't funny. And no matter how long the song went on, it was never going to be funny. I found myself in much the same situation while watching tonight. I was just sitting and watching, waiting for it to get funny.

American Idol's Simon Cowell has turned down a role on Ricky Gervais' Extras because it required him to sing a karaoke version of Elton John's song "Daniel." The man who turned criticizing singers into a multi-million dollar global industry wisely took his own advice saying, "I can't sing. Why would I humiliate myself?" Singing is apparently the only thing Cowell wouldn't do, which is sort of a shame. I'm sure it would have been immensely gratifying to all of our fallen, former Idols to see Cowell be put through his vocal paces.

While I never think it hurts a celebrity's image to make fun of him or herself through vehicles like Gervais' Extras, I can't say that I blame Cowell for sparing us. If more pop wannabes would follow his example, than they could use their fifteen minutes of fame elsewhere -- like on Mark Burnett's Pirates or by waving frantically behind local news reporters on camera.

American Idol reject Chris Daughtry finally has a name for his new band: Daughtry.

Makes sense. It's probably good to keep it simple. But it would have been really cool if he just went way out there and named it something that no one would expect. Maybe The Cranberry Mocha Brigade?

He says that the album will have the lighter, sensitive stuff, but will also have stuff that will "make you want to run around in circles." It will also be influenced by Elton John and Led Zeppelin. Um...OK.

Oh, and someone tell whoever wrote the VH-1 article linked above that the sentence isn't "Daughtry are recording the yet untitled album," it's "Daughtry is..."

[via TV Tattle]

Do they even call them albums anymore? CDs?

American Idol champ runner-up Clay Aiken's third album, A Thousand Different Ways, will be a bunch of classic cover tunes. He'll sing everything from Elton John's "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" to Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings." Throw in a Dolly Parton song and a bunch of others and you have quite a collection. He'll also have four new songs on the album (CD!)

Um...by the way, is it me or is Clay beginning to look an awful lot like K.D. Lang?

One word: KARAOKE. I just returned from a long weekend visiting friends in Savannah, Georgia, where we discovered the joy that is Comcast On Demand Karaoke. Sure, some of the songs suck to sing: who knew there really aren't any lyrics to Salt 'n Pepa's 'Push It'? But, there are some goodies like 'Baby Got Back' by Sir Mix-A-Lot, 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' by Poison, and 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' by Def Leppard. Listing those songs dates me, doesn't it? There are also some songs by Britney Spears, Elton John, Beck and R. Kelly.

Anyway, it was a great way to spend a Friday night. On the couch, yelling out songs at the top of our lungs. Margaritas are optional.

Kim Cattrall has agreed to star in Him and Us, a comedy for ABC that is being executive produced by Elton John. The series is about a gay British rock star and his longtime manager. Cattrall will play the role of the manager, a role that was originally written for a man but is being rewritten for Cattrall. Elton John says he's a huge fan of Cattrall, who played sex vixen Samantha on Sex and the City. Anthony Stewart Head, a British actor who most recently appeared in Doctor Who, is tapped for the lead role of the British rock star.