TVSquad

I got a great letter this week from a fan named Harold Dickinson.

He writes, "I'm trying to get the name of a cartoon from the late 50's or early 60's. It had two characters who -- at least in my memory -- remind me of Penn and Teller. The one character was tall and bombastic, the other was shorter and never spoke- although he would whisper to the other character. I believe the smaller character was named Leonardo- but I wouldn't swear to it."

• At 8, FOX has the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance, followed by a new On The Lot.
• TNT has an NBA playoff game at 8, the Cavaliers vs. the Pistons.
• TCM has In Harm's Way at 8.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Divine Design, followed by new episodes of Landscaper's Challenge and House Hunters.
• Don Rickles talks to Larry King on CNN at 9.
• At 10, Studio 60 returns to NBC.
• TLC has a new Wrecks to Riches at 10.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10 (repeated at 10:30).
• Also at 10: Spike has a new Ultimate Fighter.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores today.

• Alias Smith and Jones - Season 1
• Family Ties - Season 1
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit - Season 4 Uncensored
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - Season 2, Vol. 2
• What's New Scooby-Doo? - Season 1

Once while watching a movie with a friend of mine, one he had already seen, he turned to me halfway through and said, "I'm not going to tell you what happens in the movie, but just know that nothing is what it seems right now." I wanted to explain to him that saying that was just as bad as revealing the ending to me. Now, no matter what happens in the movie, I'm not going to be surprised because I now expect everything. I think this is why magicians, even the really great ones, never really impress me. I know it's going to be a big set up, and then, ta-da, some great reveal. Lather, rinse, repeat.

That's why I've always had a fondness for Penn and Teller, who know it's not enough to just do tricks, but to really make the audience squirm while doing so. Oh yeah, and later this month they'll be guest programmers on TCM. On May 22 the duo will join Robert Osbourne to introduce and talk about four of their favorite films, one of which, Tod Browning's Freaks, happens to be one of my favorite movies, as well. The four-movie marathon will begin in May 22 at 8 p.m. with the Marx Brother's At the Circus. The marathon will also include F for Fake and The Sunshine Boys.

Have you ever wondered what Teller (of Penn and Teller, of course) sounds like? He's the silent one and doesn't usually speak that often. I heard him a few years ago, and now you can catch audio of him on NPR reviewing The Glorious Deception, a book about magician Chung Lee Soo, written by Jim Steinmeyer.

[via TV Barn]