TVSquad

She doesn't exactly come off as a Martha Stewart-esque homemaker on the show but Bethenny Frankel really knows her way around the kitchen. The star of Bravo's Real Housewives of New York City has launched her own line of baked goods. The NYC cougar is bringing us vegan cupcakes and other healthy desserts. The line is called Bethenny Bakes and she launched her new company at the Bridge Market Food Emporium in Manhattan on Sunday. Some of the products include lemon cupcakes, banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, fudge chocolate chip muffins, and blueberry muffins. There is no word on whether or not these will be in stores outside of New York.

I wonder if these treats actually taste good. More importantly, I wonder if Bethenny's boyfriend will help her run the business. He lost his Wall Street job as an executive at Patriarch Partners, LLC because he appeared on the show.

It's the end of an era today. One of the longest running syndicated talk shows is airing its last show. The Montel Williams Show wraps today after 17 years of discussion, controversy, interviews and inspiration. But just because the show is ending, that doesn't mean Montel is going away. At the final New York City taping in March, he explained to the adoring throng, "I'm not retiring. I am stopping The Montel Williams Show, but I am not, in any way, shape or form, stopping anything else that I'm doing."

Williams' show has actually been one of the more dignified syndicated daytime talk shows, a step above Jerry Springer and Maury Povich, but not quite The View or Ellen DeGeneres. His style could be compared to Phil Donahue, especially in his desire to be a change agent. He really cared about the people who appeared on his program; it wasn't about being a ring leader to a freak show, as Jerry is, or confronting people with DNA tests like Maury does. Montel was not into that stuff.

New York, New York -- a place so big that had to name it twice. Isn't that what they say about the Big Apple? Recently, movie critic Leonard Maltin, host of the ReelzChannel original series Secret's Out named his picks for the 15 greatest New York scenes in movie history. That got me thinking about the television shows that are intimately tied to New York, series that are inextricably New York shows. Whether they are -- or were -- filmed in the city, here's 15 absolutely, positively New York TV shows (in the order in which they debuted!). You don't have to agree with me -- and I may have overlooked one or two (which I urge you to comment and let me know) -- but I have good reasons for every one of my choices!

If you've watched 30 Rock this past season, you've seen how funny actress Edie Falco can be. As C.C. (Celeste Cunningham), she's been a hoot opposite Alec Baldwin. Well, Showtime noticed, and they announced today that the three-time Emmy-winner, best known as Carmela on The Sopranos, will star in a new show for their network. She'll be playing a "strong-willed, iconoclastic New York City nurse juggling the frenzied grind of an urban hospital and an equally challenging personal life" is the 30-minute, single camera, dark comedy.

With all the emotional goings on at TV Squad HQ, I got to thinking that we've gone way too long without putting names to faces. This doesn't just mean the writers -- I also mean you, the readers!

We'd like to get some idea of the interest level of a TV Squad meetup for fans of TV Squad. Want to meet a bunch of the TV Squad team? Meet with other readers and fans of your favorite shows? How about some chances to win some cool free TV stuff and see some of the latest gear? Well, we want to hear from you so we can start putting it together.

I've got a couple of polls after the jump. Please take the time to answer them and leave comments if you've got other ideas. We all think this would be a great idea and, if the first one is a success, we'll do another one in a different location!

UPDATE: We say San Diego because we'd do it during Comic-Con.

There are a lot of initial discrepancies about NBC's The Black Donnellys from the moment you watch the show.
If you are a born and raised New Yorker, you might find it initially hard to relate to the creators insistence on piecing together different but real geographical areas and their claim that it's one fictional neighborhood, unlike other shows using a New York backdrop such as The Sopranos, Law and Order or even Sex and the City.

If you are Canadian, you might be even more confused by the creators choice of the title, which until recently has been a famous historical reference to one of the most gruesome murders in Canadian history.

Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis, the Oscar winning team behind Crash and the creators of The Black Donnellys implore you to throw pre-conceived notions out the window when you watch the premiere Monday night and want to remind us that although the show is heavily based on their personal experiences growing up in New York City's Hell Kitchen, the story and places are indeed fictional and should feel timeless.

Taxi rides in New York City, can be extremely frustrating. You could be riding along quickly to your destination, then hit a pocket of traffic that has you stopped for what seems like an eternity. On top of that, your driver is probably more likely talking on his cell phone or just not interested in talking to you (especially if his English is sketchy). So, unless you have someone to make out with in the back seat with you, how do you pass the time?

Well, the New York Taxi & Limousine Commission has got a solution for you: TV! Like other cities have been doing, the TLC will be rolling out new cabs that have touch-screens installed in the back. On the screens, passengers will be able to see weather and news reports, and help them look up restaurant reviews.

Do you love fine dining but aren't satisfied unless your restaurant is owned and operated by a screaming, gesticulating British man? Well, you're in luck because Gordon Ramsay, he of FOX's hit reality program Hell's Kitchen (which returns next year) has opened his first restaurant in the United States. The new restaurant, The London, is located in the NYC London Hotel. If you wish to eat there, you'll have to be patient, because it's booked for the next two months. Ramsay, who also owns nine other restaurants, says the New York City restaurant is his biggest one so far, and the most expensive. I'm guessing what sets this restaurant apart from others is that if you're not happy with your meal, Ramsay will personally come out and headbutt you in the face. Not that it matters, since I'm going to assume the menu is far more costly than anything I could ever afford. I guess I'll stick to staying home with a frozen pizza and not watching Hell's Kitchen.

(S01E01) This, by far, is the most disappointing new show of the season.

And it pains me to say that, because I like J.J. Abrams and I like stories with lots of characters set in New York City, but this show starts with a concept that turns out to be pretty damn bogus to start with and then does nothing with it.

Here's what's wrong with it.

A group of New York City officials are a bit miffed about the tribe setup in the newest installment of CBS's Survivor, which begins its new season in a few short weeks. You see, in order to keep the franchise as fresh as possible after thirteen editions of the program Mark Brunett has decided to split the tribes along racial lines: blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites.

Well, NYC officials aren't happy about that. According to City Councilman John Liu, the division along racial lines will promotes divisiveness. Liu, along with a coalition of officials, are asking CBS to reconsider its plans to air the program because it will promote racial division and negative typecasts. The network is defending the show, saying that the racially-divided theme of this season follows the show's tradition of introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues. Translation: we can't think of any other way to keep this show afloat, other than perhaps having an all-nude installment of Survivor (Richard Hatch, are you listening?).

Coulcilman Liu, along with officials from the council's black, Latino and Asian caucuses, plan to rally at City Hall on Friday to protest the show. After that, maybe they can get together to make sure that the city is protected from another terrorist attack. You know, meaningless stuff compared to protesting a television show.

Love is in bloom at The Office as it is Valentine's Day. We first see Pam (with her new hairdo that makes her look even more attractive than ever) describing what is going on, and then Phyllis gets a huge bouquet of flowers from her boyfriend Bob. We then learn that Michael is set to leave for New York City for a big meeting with other branch managers and Dunder Mifflin's CFO. Plus, he mentions that his boss Jan, with whom he hooked up with a few months before, will be there, and he slyly mentions the fact that it is Valentine's Day.

Jim then discusses his plans for the evening--since he broke up with his girlfriend a few weeks back, he's looking to get a few guys together to play some poker. Meanwhile, Dwight gets a box that contains a bobblehead doll of himself. He is absolutely thrilled, and we see Angela, normally very tightly wound, smile. We then learn that office chatterbox Kelly hooked up with Ryan, and she can't stop talking about it to Jim, who seems uncomfortable with the whole situation.