TVSquad

Every year, there's a show that's on the top of viewers' "You mean that's still on the air?" list. Whether the show was good or not, it was one that hung on in obscurity for years and years, getting just enough of an audience to keep it going. You know the shows I'm talking about: The Facts of Life. Wings. Yes, Dear. Matlock.Just Shoot Me. George Lopez. King of the Hill. JAG. Heck, even the great Scrubs was at the top of this list for many people for awhile (still might be for some).

But for the last five years or so, the reigning champ of that list was According to Jim, both because of its inexplicable longevity and its questionable quality. Now, with Jim Belushi's vanity project finally gone, it looks like another show has taken its place: FOX's 'Til Death.

The network just doesn't want to let the show die. Every time the show is in a low-rated slot, the network moves it to one that's higher-profile in an attempt to boost ratings. Case in point: the Brad Garrett sitcom will be replacing Brothers on Sundays at 7, starting January 10, after football's regular season is over.

From this clip below, it looks like Rivers is going to give as well as she gets on the Joan Rivers Roast this Sunday at 10PM on Comedy Central. I also like how the celebs dump on other celebrities at the roast. That's a nasty but funny dig at Carl Reiner.

Roast of Joan Rivers	Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c
Trailer
www.comedycentral.com

Fox has given the release date for the premiere of Dollhouse, as well as their new musical comedy Glee and several other shows. However, I wanted to focus on Dollhouse for a moment.

Once again sitting in the Friday night Death Slot of 9 PM, this time it doesn't even have a lead-in of another sci-fi drama. This time, starting September 18, the lead is 'Til Death starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher.

The only reasonable hypothesis I can reasonably come up with is that Fox wants to broadcast all thirteen episodes of season 2 during the 2009 calendar year before they finally pull the plug on this show. This would mean that the entire run of Dollhouse would have been during 2009.

In short, if you really want the show to make it to a third season, I recommend buying a hundred copies per household member of the DVD set for season one. Otherwise, I don't see it happening.

According to industry scuttlebutt, My Name Is Earl is on the ropes and at risk of being canceled by NBC. Nikki Finke is reporting that it's practically a done deal at NBC, but Earl could be moving to Fox.

It's not just the lousy Nielsen ratings that have done the shaggy-dog sitcom in, it's also the rising production costs. NBC has an entire line-up that's bleeding in the ratings, so surgery is required. It is very likely that Earl will get the ax.

Huh. That's the only thing I can say about the recent announcement that 'Til Death will be returning to the FOX lineup next year with a full season order. Well, I could probably add in a 'Hmm' or an 'Eh?' or even a 'Whaaaaa?', but they would all convey the same emotions.

I mean, who would have thought that the network had so much confidence in the show after it placed it on "hiatus" back in October (it still has 15 episodes left in its compliment)? It's not like the network had anything of importance to fill the time slot other than repeats of House or Fringe. Maybe the network felt bad that 'Til Death is, as of this moment, the only live-action, studio audience sitcom remaining on the network. Or, maybe they have some bigger ideas in the works.

Primetime Wednesday seems to be the toughest night of all for TV programmers. There's not one network that seems to do particularly well in the 8-9 p.m. time slot, and the juggling has begun. Fox yanked Do Not Disturb weeks ago, admitting it was a dud.

Now the Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher sitcom Til Death will be off the air for two weeks, effective immediately. In that time slot, instead, we'll be seeing more House, albeit repeats. Still, you watch, those reruns will do markedly better than the sitcoms did.

Til Death, to be frank, has regressed this year. I defended the renewal of the show when Fox gave it a third season, based on the episodes I watched last spring. But the comedy has really strained since its season premiere in September. There's no other way to put it -- Death is in the death throes and should be put out of its misery. This two week hiatus should be the end of the series.

(S07E01) It seems like only yesterday when Monk, the ultimate obsessive compulsive Sherlock Holmes, began on USA Network, and now here it is the start of its seventh season. In all that time, for a man who doesn't like change at all, Adrian Monk has had to endure quite a bit of upheaval. The untimely death last April of actor Stanley Kamel, who played Monk's security blanket/therapist Dr. Kroger, was written into this premiere episode, in -- what I believe -- was a very subtle, graceful way.

Monk's sudden displeasure with his home is rooted in his discomfort in his life now that Dr. Kroger is gone. The ultimate egotist, in that Monk cares most for himself, Adrian is desperate to throw himself into work to avoid the irritating piano-playing coming from the little girl across the street and disturbing the sanctuary of his home. Kudos to the new therapist, Dr. Bell, for connecting the dots and quickly sizing up why Monk finds the music so displeasing.

On Friday, July 18th, the seventh season of Monk will premiere on the USA network. For some this is incredibly good news, particularly since the show will be celebrating its 100th episode come September. For others, season seven is three or four seasons too many. It's these people who think Adrian Monk should retire to a Feung Shui-styled, completely dust-free room to live out his remaining days lamenting about his lost love Trudy.

Fortunately, Tony Shalhoub doesn't want Monk to retire. In a recent interview the actor who plays the obsessive-compulsive Mr. Monk said that there is plenty more to explore about the character and the people around him. This is especially true thanks to the revelations of the season six finale, which opened up a whole new avenue for Monk to find the killer of his wife. That, and the introduction of a new therapist into Monk's life (due to the sudden death of Stanley Kamel), have the seventh season looking interesting.

Ladies, your dreams have come true. It looks like you will have a chance to date television star Brad Garrett. He's executive-producing and starring in an online dating reality show called, duh, Dating Brad Garrett.

Garrett is best known for his nine-year stint as Ray Romano's brother in the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. He is currently entering his third season as one of the stars of the Fox sitcom Til Death.

"An online dating show seemed like a logical choice given that I'm in the midst of a midlife crisis and averse to pain, which makes getting my ear pierced out of the question," Garrett said. "And since I'm not picky about my choices, I hope women of all sizes, shapes and colors will be compelled to submit their videos."

Women can submit videos to the Crackle.com site at Crackle.com/DateBrad. I wonder if he'll be more popular than Tila Tequila?

Fox has made the call, and it's a big "see ya later" for Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. But their loss is someone else's gain. The pilot for the Jason Bateman directed comedy series The Inn has been picked up for a 13-week commitment, while Back to You has been axed. The Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher sitcom, Til Death, meanwhile, has been given another year.

Bateman, who starred in Arrested Development -- the Emmy-award winning comedy that the network dumped unceremoniously because of low ratings -- was behind the camera for The Inn pilot. The show, which is about the haves and have-nots in a fancy, five-star New York City hotel, has a promising cast of funny folks including Niecy Nash (Reno 911!), Jerry O'Connell (who looks like Jason's twin), and the really hilarious Jesse Tyler Ferguson (remember him on The Class -- he was so funny!).

Two days of presentations from FOX wrapped up with yet another outdoor "all-stars" party. FOX held its gala at the Santa Monica Pier just in time for out-of-town TCA members to see the sunset and the Pacific Ocean.

While there was plenty of swag in sight (mostly various sizes of dolls from The Simpsons), you had to earn it!

Party attendees played carnival games (ring toss, shooting baskets, knocking down bottles with baseballs, popping balloons with darts) in order to take home prizes.

American Idol appears to be the "show-that-can't-be-stopped." At last week's Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, executives referred to it as the "Death Star" because it consistently destroys the competiton. And few expected that Amercan Idol, now in its six season, would not only maintain its monstrous ratings -- but continue to grow.

It's no wonder then that Fox executives are planning on scheduling at least 45 hours of Idol -- and possibly more -- to take full advantage of their ratings powerhouse.

If you are the one person who totally couldn't wait to see Paris Hilton and Britney Spears host the Fox Billboard Music Awards next week, I've got some bad news for you. After parading around Los Angeles as new best friends, Britney has ditched Paris and her hosting gig. Fox reps say they didn't get an explanation from Britney about why she decided against it. Maybe she decided to go back home and take care of her two small children after several nights of partying that led to some nasty photos of Britney's hoochie all over the internet.

That's twice this month that Britney has actually done something smart. The next thing you know, she's going to start wearing a bra and using a car seat to tote around her little boys.

By the way, Fox says Paris probably won't host alone. The network wants her new co-host to be Brad Garrett. If he does it, I think we can safely assume that he has, in fact, sold his soul to the devil.

Related:
Rosie tells Britney to keep her panties on
Now Ripa is fighting with Rosie

Fox has picked up the back nine episodes of the new comedy, 'Til Death, starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher. Even though the show hasn't done much in its Thursday night timeslot, Fox thinks there is an audience out there for this sitcom. Fox thinks that 24 and American Idol will draw in more viewers to the network when they begin in January.

The network has also ordered six more episodes of Standoff, starring Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt (and Gina Torres for all you Firefly fans). A rep for the network says it didn't order the full back nine (considered a full season) because there isn't going to be any room for a full season once 24 and American Idol begin.

'Til Death will stay off the air for an extra week after the World Series because star Brad Garrett is holding up production. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Garrett was very unhappy with the latest script. That's actually a good reason to postpone a show... to make the script better. Unfortunately for Brad, it might not matter that much. The show is taking a beating on Thursday nights against Survivor and Ugly Betty. It'll be interesting to see that episode when it does get made, to see what Garrett considers a 'good' script.