TVSquad

Amid controversy and the threat of certain world leaders boycotting the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the word came out yesterday that President George W. Bush would attend the opening ceremonies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this is good news for NBC, and the companies that have bought advertising for the Games.

While I can see how a boycott based on human rights abuses in China and Tibet would be a serious problem for the network -- and it still may lose viewers who choose to individually tune out rather than give positive sanction to China's misdeeds by watching -- I don't see how NBC can think a Bush appearance will bolster ratings.

(S19E10) "To Springfield!"

"Which one?"

"The one where The Simpsons live."

My oh my, was this a jam-packed episode of The Simpsons or what? I haven't seen this many sight gags in one installment of the show for the longest time. Not only that, but this was probably the first episode of the season where Homer and the rest of the family took a back seat to the rest of Springfield's citizens.

We continue to celebrate Lawsuit Week here at TV Squad, and today's is a doozy: a host of Air America's Young Turks is suing Stephen Colbert for stealing one of his jokes and using it on The Colbert Report.

Cenk Uygur claims that Colbert stole his joke comparing various Republicans to Klingons, and there's video to "prove" it (after the jump). Uygur is clearly looking for a way to get on The Colbert Report and debate this with Colbert and is only doing this for publicity really thinks he has a case here. I wonder if Colbert will respond?

Actually, I could have sworn I had heard Republicans compared to Klingons some place else, a year or two ago, but I can't remember where. Does it ring a bell with anyone else?

MSNBC has just announced that they will air the first debate of the 2008 Presidential campaign. The network will have the first Democratic party debate at South Carolina State University on April 26. A few weeks later, on May 15, FOX News will air the first Republican party debate from South Carolina.

Um...wait a second. The election isn't until November of 2008 but the debates are already starting this April? More than a year and a half before the election? Has this always been done? I usually pay close attention to these things but I can't remember them starting this early before.

Then again, all the supermarkets and drugstores had Christmas candy on the same shelves as Halloween candy a few months ago, so I guess everything starts early these days.

[via TV Newser]

Maher made a couple remarks alleging that Republican Ken Mehlman was gay during his interview with Larry King on CNN Wednesday night. However, those of us who don't live on the East coast never heard these remarks because they were edited out of the later time zones. When Maher said that the Republican Party was being run by "hypocritical gays," King asked for specifics, and Maher mentioned Mehlman, who resigned on Friday not because of the exchange between King and Maher, but because of the recent midterm election victory of the Democrats. The exchange was also edited out of later broadcasts. Maher said during the interview that he wasn't the first person to "out" Mehlman as a homosexual, because he would have been sued if he had. The clip of the exchange can be seen after the jump.

David Zucker, one of the men behind Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and, probably my favorite, Top Secret! created a hysterical campaign ad for the Republican party that features a faux Madeleine Albright making nicey-nice with evil dictators and terrorist while they continue to wreak havoc on the world. Drudge reports that the ad was rejected by the GOP for being too over the top. I find it hard to tell if the ad is really meant as a slam against Democrats, or his own satirical view of how Republicans see anyone who's opposed to them. Did Zucker really think this would be used, or was he just having some fun? I don't really know, I just sit back and enjoy it, because it is really funny. Check it out after the jump.

[via Best Week Ever]

"Truculence!": FOX News' Chris Wallace was being a real douchebag (lack of a better word... except maybe "prick") to Bill Clinton during his interview. Surprisingly enough, Clinton fought back really aggressively and really let Wallace have a piece of his mind. Clinton also said some really solid, informative things, but, no no, the media wanted none of that and focused solely upon Clinton's outburst. Jon did a really good bit here. I suppose he felt even more compelled to back up Clinton because the man was a (really great) guest on The Daily Show just last week. Senior Media Watchdog Samantha Bee briefly elaborated on the issue.

We -- and by "we", I mean "I" -- interrupt this post to mention some nifty news: America: The Book is now in a paperback teacher's edition! Burn your hardcovers and buy these new ones (Amazon.com has a nice clip of Jon talking about the paperback).

Jessica Simpson turned down a seat at a Republican fund-raiser and a face-to-face meeting with President Bush recently to talk about the charity she supports, Operation Smile. The charity provides free plastic surgery to disadvantaged kids overseas with facial deformities. I just hope it isn't like Plastic Surgeons Without Borders.

Anyway, Simpson apparently didn't want to politicize her charity or make her own political views known. I guess I can respect that, although I don't see any clear political affiliation regarding this charity, so her reasoning seems a little odd. Simpson did agree to the meeting initially, then changed her mind at the last minute.

Update: According to IMDb, Simpson is denying everything the press has been reporting, and has stated that the president merely didn't have enough time to meet with her.