TVSquad

Well, the big interview happens this Monday: Oprah interviews former Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin. The interview actually took place several days ago so some clips are starting to be released. Here's a first look, where Oprah asks Palin about Levi Johnston.

Update: we love to see comments on our site, but if they go off topic or get into political arguments, they will be deleted. If you want to comment specifically about Palin's appearance on Oprah, that's fine. Other comments will be deleted. Thanks.

Every show has an off-week. Unfortunately, for Jay Leno when he has an off-week, it takes up five hours worth of our time. Almost every guest was less than entertaining, and even most of the comedy bits missed this week. Luckily, there were some redeeming moments throughout, most of which I've included right here for you. See, I just saved you five hours of time.

With Rachel Griffiths appearing this week, it appears that ABC's ban on their actors appearing on Leno's show may have finally been lifted. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring along a clip of Brothers & Sisters, so I guess they're still feeling a little sour. Or NBC doesn't want to promote a competing network's show too much.

In last Sunday's episode of Mad Men, Betty Draper tried to use the knowledge that someone in the Governor's office liked her to save a neighborhood park. I'm sure he wanted more than just that, but it hasn't gone any further (yet). The other day, January Jones (who plays Betty) went to Capitol Hill to get involved in politics for real, advocating for sharks.

In this picture, Jones meets with Senator John McCain. In the caption to the pic, McCain says that he's a huge fan of Mad Men. I think that's one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Someone in the comments says it's Grandpa Gene's ghost. Ha!

While a myriad of people watched the latest Presidential address by Barack Obama, those that weren't in favor of his presidency can give themselves some comfort by tuning into AMC on Memorial Day, when the Senator from Arizona and former Presidential candidate will be hosting a marathon of famous war movies while discussing his own war experiences.

This is a really good idea. I thought John McCain was a good presidential candidate (although I didn't like how he moved further to the right to appease his party when he finally got the nomination) and could have been a good president. I just hope that when he talks about his time at war he emphasizes that it's not fun or cool like the movies make it seem. That's just part of the liberal Hollywood agenda.

I'm not sure what I'm doing on Memorial Day, but I just may have to tune into AMC just to see what the Senator says. Also, Patton is a really good flick.

The network that brought you a movie based on the 2000 Presidential Election and would have brought you a movie based on the 2004 Presidential Election had it been more interesting is bringing you another one.

Variety reports that HBO Films has optioned the rights to a book based on the events of the 2008 Presidential Election for another made-for-TV movie. The book, "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime," written by political writers Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, will be released later this year.

So will the movie, written by Blood Diamond screenwriter Charles Leavitt, be fair and balanced? Will it give both sides equal time? I honestly could not care less. As long as it pisses off the Elizabeth Hasselbecks and Joy Behars of the world, that's fine with me.

I think we can all agree that the infamous Andy Kaufman/Jerry Lawler incident on the old Late Night with David Letterman show (where Kaufman and Lawler got into an argument and then a punch was thrown) was staged. But when it comes to another infamous incident from the show, where Crispin Glover demonstrated his kicking technique next to Letterman's head? I think that was weird and real.

The Glover interview is on Cracked's Letterman's most hilariously awkward moments list. Most of them are actually from his current CBS show. Only two of them (Glover and cartoonist Harvey Pekar) are from the old NBC show. Other awkward interviews listed (with videos) include Madonna, John McCain, and Michael Richards (with special awkward cohort, Jerry Seinfeld!).

What was the top TV story of the year? The choice was obvious to all of us, and probably all of you, too: The election. The 2008 race for the White House was not only historic, it was dramatic and played out more on TV with recognizable star personas than any election in recent memory.

And like a great TV show, it was a season-long run of highs and lows, tension and release, defeat and victory. Along the way, Americans made a choice about who will run the country for the next four years, but they were also entertained by a near constant barrage of media coverage in the form of maximum cable news, thousands of commercials, daily political commentary both serious and comic, a plethora of debates, and -- naturally -- Saturday Night Live's take on it all.

It all started about a year ago in the cold of Iowa and New Hampshire...

...Ew, not like that, you guys. Although, I'm sure if you did just a few minutes of Googling, you could find that too, in one form or another. What I'm talking about is Tina Fey's brilliant impression of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. How good was the impression? It was so good that the episodes featuring Fey, and the one that featured Palin herself, were some of SNL's highest-rated episodes in years. Tina Fey's brilliant but ratings-challenged sitcom, 30 Rock received a ratings bump, she scored a multi-million dollar book deal, and newspapers sometimes forgot that they were actually two different people.Not bad for a funny lady who had never been known for her impressions and a governor from a small town no one had ever heard of.

Obama may have been our first celebrity candidate, but Palin was our first beauty queen. Whether you loved her or hated her, it's hard to argue that she was a captivating figure.

As I think about the past year, in both my life and in the world of TV, there's plenty I have to be thankful for. The life stuff is obvious: health, family, my girlfriend, a roof over my head, food on my plate, and a job that I enjoy. But the TV stuff isn't quite as obvious. So, as the balloons float over midtown Manhattan and people get ready to gorge themselves, here are a few things that made me happy to be a television watcher this year:

The election - Yes, it was too long. And, yes, it was exasperating at times. But it was the source of a lot of entertaining television. Of course, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and SNL were in top form (Tina Fey became a huge star, thanks to Sarah Palin). But entertainment came in many forms this election season, from Katie Couric's skewering of Palin to David Letterman's spat with McCain to just about anything that came out of Joe Biden's mouth. Finally, I have three words of infinite entertainment for you: Chuck Todd's goatee.

When Katie Couric was on The Late Show with David Letterman earlier this week, Dave forgot to yell at her for taking Senator John McCain away from his show a couple of months ago to interview him at the same time he was supposed to be on Letterman's show. The New York Post pointed this out in yesterday's paper, so last night Dave agreed and decided to call Katie and ask her all about it on the air. The exchange is after the jump.

However, it's not the only video from Dave and Katie. She has her own video channel on YouTube, where she uploads various behind the scenes videos on a regular basis, and she made one for the night that she was on the show. It features Couric in her dressing room and backstage, talking to various staff members, a Late Show producer, and other people before she went to the chair to talk to Dave.

It's over. It's finally over. The talking points, the smears, the empty promises... it's been a fun two-year ride, but it was definitely time for it all to end (at least until December, 2010... heh...). And, just like the other networks, NBC didn't have much of anywhere to go after they called the election for Obama at 11 PM ET.

NBC decided to stick with the tried and true this year -- an anchor, the old sage analyst, and a few other people to help along the way. No real outrageous commentary, no poop-eating grins from any of the anchors (Keith Olbermann stayed on MSNBC) or anything that would be construed as "interesting" or "entertaining."

It's about 12 hours later and as I look back on MSNBC's Election Plaza broadcast, I can see things a bit more clearly now. Overall, the "place for politics" did a fine job covering the most historic presidential election in my lifetime. It wasn't the most dramatic, but it was living history.

History was in the making because we knew going in whether the Dems or the Reps won, an African-American or a woman would be in the White House by the end of the night. MSNBC captured that political reality with images and by letting the camera run long after Obama's speech just to watch the faces of the people -- including Oprah and Jesse Jackson, both in tears -- celebrate in joy.

The prognosticators and pollsters were all on target by choosing Obama/Biden as the winners, so that means nobody's at Gallup or Fivethirtyeight.com is losing his/her job.

Let the celebration begin. McCain's concession speech. Obama's rousing acceptance. Lots and lots of reflection. It's a special night for the networks, even though the election was called relatively early. NBC was no exception:

• Emotional speeches by Tavis Smiley and Tom Brokaw. Brokaw's hard enough to understand as it is; with his voice wavering, he becomes downright impossible.
• Smiley wanted to break into an Electric Slide. Brokaw said "you need a bunch of white people to do that." Methinks Brokaw's been to too many cheesy weddings.
• BriWi tried to break out the humor, saying that Obama and Biden were about to move into "government housing." Brokaw was better: "Obama will be housebreaking a puppy in the White House; he'll have a harder time housebreaking the Democratic majority in Congress."
• Nice job bringing in sigfinicant African-American politicians: John Lewis, David Paterson, Cory Booker. It was good to get their perspective on this historic day (and a local shoutout to WNBC, who got anchor Sue Simmons' perspective on Obama's election; she's also from a mixed-race family, and the way they were treated in Chicago was a bit rougher than the treatment Obama got).
• Ann Curry got to break out of her green dungeon and sit at the desk after Obama's speech. She's gonna be tired on Today tomorrow.
• Luke Russert: "It's our turn now." Oh, the youth. So optimistic.
• Oh, the cutaways from Obama's speech: Harlem, Spellman College, and Election Plaza. Much more interesting than the pool camera showing Oprah and a sobbing Jesse Jackson every thirty seconds.

Final thoughts on NBC's coverage tomorrow morning...

It's fantastic to see Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert team up on something other than an award show (not that I'm complaining about super-adorable Stewart/Colbert/Carell hugs, which warm my otherwise bitterly cold heart). It will be interesting to see how the boys react to the live results, but I'm most interested in seeing how Stephen Colbert stays in character. Check back later for videos Click on the jump for the full episode!

10:05: Man, those intros were hardcore. And how long is that bird going to stay on Stephen's shoulder? I'm waiting for a startled poo. I'm still not used to seeing Jon and Stephen together. It's too much awesome.

10:12: Hi, Jason Jones! Nice to see -- Whoa, what just happened? Something flashed on the screen, but I didn't catch it. Suddenly compelled to join the military, though.

MSNBC has summarized how historic this is -- Keith said it best. "This is man on the moon historic." He's right. Nobody will ever forget where they were when the first African-American U.S. President was elected.

11:18 John McCain is conceding. He's a class act. A person sometimes shows more about himself in defeat then in victory. McCain recognizes that this is a great moment in history and he must acknowledge it gracefully. He's doing it well. I especially like his mentioning the passing of Obama's grandmother. He's taking the blame for the loss and calling for unity. I think he couldn't say it any more plainly or with courage. Call me crazy, but this sounds like the McCain of 2000. Very classy.