TVSquad

Good news, everyone! The Jay Leno Show was funny this week. There were some funny guests, genuinely funny comedy correspondent moments, and another Real Housewives quiz show, this time with the ladies from Atlanta.

Jay even managed to get a quick jab in to the bosses at NBC during an archery "Earn Your Plug" with Wanda Sykes. "This is NBC," he said to her. "I'm used to getting shot in the back." I've grown to respect Leno during his 10 o'clock experiment. He's a trouper doing what NBC is paying him to do, but you can tell he thinks the whole situation's about as screwed up as we do.

Even better, there were only two "10 @ 10" segments and no "Green Car Challenge" races, which allowed for more room to bring on Frank Calliendo and Sebastian Maniscalco to do stand-up routines. This is what I was expecting Leno to be doing, showcasing comedy rather than driving around a track trying not to hit Al Gore.

I don't actually watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but as I have a pulse and an internet connection, I am all to aware of housewife Kim Zolciak and her uh, club jam, "Tardy for the Party." For those of you who may not be totally up on the whole Atlanta saga, Kim is the one who's dating a married man named Big Papa and wears a wig, which she said was due to a battle with cancer-- until she admitted that she had never actually had cancer; she just thought she might one time until she actually went to the doctor.

So anyway, The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion, hosted by Bravo exec Andy Cohen, is airing on Thursday, and part of the festivities involve Kim singing her "hit." You guys, there are two important items to note about this performance: 1) she has dancers and 2) she is not lip-synching.

Have you ever had a drunken friend or relative get up and sing a really inappropriate karaoke song, and you just smiled uncomfortably and prayed for it to be over quickly? This is like that-- except it is most definitely not over quickly.

If you've been watching the current season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, you've seen an uptick in the nastiness. Wig-pulling, sniping, one wife referring to another as a monster, bad singing ... It's been a wallow in bad behavior. As shocking as what's been on the air, this news yesterday was shockingly real: A.J. Jewell, the fiance of Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kandi Burruss, died after a parking lot brawl Friday night.

On the show, Kandi is the newest wife (although she was not presently married), and the successful singer/songwriter in the course of this season, she's been struggling with her engagement to A.J. He had six children from a previous relationship, and Kandi's mother has been against her daughter marrying him. Mama even refused to have a picture taken with A.J.

The news that this man has died is truly surprising and sad.

American Idol's choice of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge replacement threw everyone for a loop, even schlubs like me who don't watch the show.

It's not that she's not talented, successful or funny. It's just an odd choice, putting a comedian on the show that takes its goal of crushing losers' dreams on live television so seriously. It would evoke the same reaction from me if they picked Andrew "Dice" Clay as the new judge, if the Diceman was talented, successful or funny.

And besides, why do they need humor and comedy on such an otherwise serious show? There are lots of humorless, vapid and downright boring shows that are crying out for comedic interjection.

The ladies of The Real Housewives of New York City are, needless to say, a colorful bunch. The Bravo franchise seems to have hit its stride, with each cast of Housewives providing their own flavor. But in comparison to Orange County and Atlanta, the ladies of New York seem especially weird. Perhaps it's apropos to their all living in a city with crazy people at every corner, but whatever the case may be, these gals are bonkers.

Sure, the show may just be a well-delivered product of sneaky producers and menacing editors, but somebody's doing something right in bringing out the bizarre nuances of Jill, LuAnn, Alex, Ramona, and Bethenny - although she, of the whipsmart one-liners and catchphrases, seems to be the crowd favorite (judging by ... conversations I've had with people).