TVSquad

It's the law of television: when one talk show comes to life, one must die.

Star Jones has lost her Court TV (sorry, TruTv) show, The Star Jones Show. The program only lasted about six months, but the powers that be have decided that because the network has changed its brand and focus (from legal/court shows to shows about car chases and lifeguards), the show no longer fits in. A note from TruTV VP Marc Juris says that Jones will stay with the network as a contributor, which sounds similar to Mario Batali's role at Food Network: his show ended but you'll see him on Iron Chef America once in a great while.

We are just a scant five days and handful of hours away until the calendar page turns over and we are in 2008. As usual, whenever a new year comes screaming and shouting out of womb of the old one changes abound. Nowhere does that seem more prevalent than in the world of television. Not only will we see a slew of mid-season premieres popping up as early as January 1st, but two cable networks will be changing as well.

The first change actually starts on New Year's Eve. That is when Noggin and The N become two separate cable networks. Both networks will expand to a 24-hour schedule of programming, with Noggin remaining commercial-free and on its current channel position. The N, which is home to the very popular Degrassi: The Next Generation will be relocated to another channel. You will want to speak to your local cable company about its new location before you go through withdrawal.

We told you it was going to happen. Court TV has changed its name, and it will no longer answer to "Court TV." From now on when you call you must ask for TruTV, the brand new name that also symbolizes a new direction for the channel when it re-launches with its new sexy look January 1, 2008.

Look, at this point I no longer care about networks sticking to programming that adheres to the name of the network. Cartoon Network is airing live-action stuff, AMC is focusing more on original series and less on movies, and I'm pretty sure Animal Planet is starting to give equal time to series about fruits and vegetables. All I care about is good programming, I don't really care what channel it's on. Hell, one of my favorite new shows, Ice Road Truckers, is on the History Channel. It has nothing to do with history, but I don't care.