TVSquad

James Gandolfini joins the HBO family for one more bash -- poolside.

Call me cynical, but I'm not quite sure why HBO pulled out all the stops for a lavish gala at the W hotel in Westwood, Calif. when so many networks are cutting back. About 200 journalists plus assorted HBO personnel feasted on filet mignon, lobster tails and an open bar.

The hotel spa was on call in nearby cabanas to give free hand massages and (for the women) fingernail re-polishing.

Is a new HBO series going to show real sex on screen?

That's the buzz coming out of the summer Television Critics Association tour, which starts today. The new HBO series Tell Me You Love Me reportedly has male and female stars doing it for real, not just the usual "lovemaking" you see on television (even cable). Rob Owen over at post-gazette.com has seen the pilot and says it looks like it's real and not camera angles or special effects.