TVSquad

Here's the gist of the story:

Alex White Plume of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota had been trying to grow various crops on his land, but none of what he planted could sustain. Finally, after a bit of research, he decided to grow industrial hemp, a close relative of marijuana but with a much lower amount of THC. While it is not illegal to sell hemp products, it is illegal to grow it, but Plume assumed he could grow and sell the hemp due to tribal sovereignty.

Back in July, Richard gave you the scoop on comedian Brian Froud's theater show Swiss Family Guy Robinson. Froud's one-man act is essentially a staged mash-up of Johann Rudolf Wyss' 1812 novel and Seth MacFarlane's animated series. Froud's show was a hit at Toronto's Fringe Festival, but his chances of ever staging the show again are slim to none. Fox has slapped Froud with a cease-and-desist order for unauthorized use of Family Guy characters.

On February 6 at 9 p.m., the National Geographic Channel will air Moonshine, a one-hour documentary about the history of moonshine and how the outlawed liquor led to one of the most popular sports franchises of all time, NASCAR.

The special will feature the last interview ever conducted with racing legend and NASCAR announcer Benny Parsons, who passed away last month. Also featured in the documentary is Junior Johnson, who almost faced jail time for transporting moonshine when he was younger.

When prohibition struck in the '20s, skilled drivers were recruited to transport moonshine, a corn-based concoction introduced to the South by Scots-Irish immigrants. What was once a way to evade the law soon evolved into the sport of stock car racing, and later into the phenomenon known as NASCAR. Let that be a lesson to anyone currently breaking the law: your unlawful exploits just might be the next big thing in sports.

You can watch a preview clip of Moonshine here.

I think I've mentioned here before that I'm a big fan of Demetri Martin. Some people don't seem to like him for some reason (not sure why, he's funny and doesn't have any annoying qualities). It's probably just a knee-jerk reaction, to appear hip to dislike someone who has suddenly become hip. But I have no scientific data to back up this claim.

Martin talks to The Onion about how he got started in comedy, what it was like to be an intern on The Daily Show and then an on-air correspondent, how hard standup can be, and how comedy has changed since he started (since he started? What, seven or eight years ago?)

He also updates fans on the status of not one but two pilots he wrote for NBC. Hint: the news is not good. Or maybe it's very good, depending on what you want to see from Martin. He has a new CD out, These Are Jokes, and will film a special for Comedy Central.

On the heels of news that both 7th Heaven and The Game were given full season orders comes news that CBS' Shark, with James Woods as a hotshot lawyer, has been given a full season as well. The most recent episode got the series best ratings yet.

This reminded me that CBS only put four new shows on their lineup this fall. Jericho and Shark have gotten full season orders, nothing has been said about The Class yet, and Smith was canceled only after a few episodes.

[via TV Tattle]

Once again, lots of things happen. Christina (Julianne Nicholson) is heartbroken over an emotional case involving a dead baby, Billy (J. August Richards) is trying to keep his perfect record in the courtroom, Cabot (Stephanie March) and Steele (Anson Mount) get it on, Potter (Jordan Bridges) grows some balls, and Peluso (Eric Balfour) hounds the beautiful but icey girl in the office. By the way, did anybody catch why the title of this episode is 'Savasana'? I don't get it.

Well, Billy is a jerk. In his personal life and his work life. He sleeps with a girl who turns out to be a clerk and then totally shrugs her off when he sees her in the courthouse. But, even worse than that was his attempt to get a woman to drop her 1974 rape case because it wasn't a slam dunk for him. He tells the rape victim, "I don't want to put you through any unnecessary pain." Grrrr.

Is anybody else wondering where this show is going? It's trying to balance a procedural drama, which is Dick Wolf's cup of tea, with a bunch of personal storylines, which are usually not included in Dick Wolf shows. It seems clumsy, fragmented, and packed with too much information. I still don't know any of the characters' names and I feel like I'm not getting any time to get to know them because the show jumps from character to character so quickly.

NBC was kind enough to make the new Dick Wolf procedural drama, Conviction, available for free on iTunes before it airs on Friday night. So, I took advantage. I'm just going to give you my general thoughts on the program. There will be NO SPOILERS HERE.

If you like Law and Order, you will probably like Conviction. There are a lot of characters on the show who will make for some great storylines that will no doubt be driven by the criminals and crime victims. It looks as though we'll be getting two storylines an episode, instead of just one, like the usual Dick Wolf procedural dramas.

I may have just died and gone to heaven. I'm only speculating here, because The Hollywood Reporter didn't exactly say for sure, but it's a pretty good bet that Alan Tudyk and Joshua Jackson have been cast in the same drama that's being created for CBS. Earlier this month, I reported on Jackson landing the lead in a Carol Mendelsohn law drama about a young lawyer whose career takes a turn when he takes a death row case. The Hollywood Reporter is now saying that Alan Tudyk (aka 'Wash' in Firefly) has been cast "in CBS' untitled Carol Mendelsohn drama". It describes the show as being about brilliant legal minds and that Tudyk will play "a competitive and arrogant Ivy League graduate." That sounds like the same show to me. Now, if only David Duchovny would join the cast.

Joshua Jackson just landed the lead role in a CBS legal drama that, so far, does not have a title. Jackson, also known as Pacey Witter (heart!) from Dawson's Creek, is fresh off the stage in England where he acted with Patrick Stewart in a David Mamet play. He also shot a couple of indie movies last year.

In the new series, Jackson will play a first-year lawyer, badgered by a firm partner, whose career takes an important turn when he is assigned the case of a death row inmate. The series is produced by Carol Mendelsohn, one of the producers of the CSI franchise.

Maybe 2006 is the year of the Dawson's Creek kids? Katie Holmes will allegedly give birth to Tom Cruise's baby later this year and Michelle Williams may or may not win an Oscar for her role in Brokeback Mountain. Now, where on earth is James van der Beek?

The new year brings a new law to California that punishes overzealous paparazzi (is there any other kind?). Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed the law, after numerous reports this year that people like Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johanssen, Paris Hilton, and Lindsey Lohan were being run off the road by photographers. The governator himself was even run off the road by photographers. The new law prohibits photographers and videographers from assaulting anyone in an attempt to get a photo. That includes the subject of the photo and the general public, which is usually forcefully pushed aside when a celebrity is walking down the street. If convicted, paparazzi will have to pay triple damages and give up any money made off the photos. The law also allows publishers who buy and print the photos to also be liable. The Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney started off the new year by putting out a call to all celebrities to contact his office when they are assaulted by paparazzi.