TVSquad

Thanksgiving is a time for family, right? On TV, our favorite families have been The Waltons, The Huxtables, The Simpsons. But this year a vote has been taken and another family has emerged as America's favorite. The Kardashians. Yes, believe it or not, the People's Choice web site has done a survey and the family chosen by most respondents to spend Turkey Day with are E TV's Kardashians.

Starting at 1 o'clock on Thursday, November 27, E! will broadcast a Kardashian marathon, five hours of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Yes, if you don't want to watch NFL games -- and considering the fact that we're forced to endure the horrid Detroit Lions every Thanksgiving, the 2008 winless Lions, you may want to turn away -- you can instead watch the rich, spoiled, outrageous Kardashians.

(Of course, there is an NFL connection if you count Reggie Bush, Kim's fiance, the star running back of the New Orleans Saints who's currently injured and not playing.)

When I think about the Olympics I don't think about the grandeur of the competitions, the feeling of global community, the individual stories of the athletes, or the mesmerizing synchronized swimming routines. The one thing that comes to mind when I think about the Olympics: anonymity. Out of the thousands of athletes that compete in these games many fade into the daily routine of their countries once the Closing Ceremony is completed.

Yet, there are a handful, particularly the up-and-coming stars of each Olympic games, that remain in the spotlight well after the torch has been extinguished. Some continue into the professional sports realm, others become "experts" in their field, and some jump into another profession altogether. Then there are those who enjoy the television spotlight so much that they remain in the medium in one capacity or another.

Sometimes it's as themselves on other television properties. Other times they dabble into the acting field with mixed results. Here are seven Olympic athletes who continued their careers on television in one form or another.

Sure, going to jail may be a poor life choice, but when you're a reality TV star, it's certainly not going to hurt your career. Despite the fact that Khloe Kardashian is headed to the slammer for a 30-day stint, E! has just announced that it is renewing Keeping Up with the Kardashians for a third season.

Keeping Up follows Khloe, her sister Kourtney and the infamous Kim Kardashian as they deal with their family (mom Kris Jenner is married to former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner) and life in LA as they try to stay in the public eye. Previous episodes have dealt with the fallout from Kim's sex tape, Kourtney's underage naked photos, and Khloe's DUI arrest. As Lisa Berger, E!'s executive VP original programming and series development understates, "There is never a shortage on drama, and we are certain the new season will be another wild ride,"

People are definitely watching. While its numbers would get a network show canceled in a heartbeat, Keeping Up with the Kardashians' 1.6 million viewer average makes it a hit on E! Ten episodes have been ordered for season 3, which will premiere early next year.

Part 6 of 7? You know what that means... we aren't going to find out who the winner is until Thursday next week.

This episode was really a drag. And when I say "drag", I mean that they really dragged this one out to fill an entire hour without actually announcing the winners. The episode began with a recap of who got voted off when, and then all the skaters returned for encore performances. Todd Bridges is awkward and mechanical on the ice, reminding everybody why he was the first one to be booted off this competition. Kurt Browning is sporting a bald head? In the middle of the show all the teams resurrected previous routines that they skated, an element otherwise known as a time suck.

We're down to three teams: Kristy Swanson and Lloyd Eisler, Jillian Barberie and John Zimmerman, and Bruce Jenner and Tai Babilonia. I think it's pretty obvious who the weak skaters are here, but we'll see what happens on the ice.

Just a quick recap: last week we bid farewell to the not-very-graceful Dave Coulier and Nancy Kerrigan. Before that, Deborah Gibson and Kurt Browning were out, and the first team eliminated was Todd Bridges and Jenni Meno.

Now that Deborah Gibson and Kurt Browning are gone, the playing field seems pretty evenly matched. It looks like the remaining teams had a lot of falls during the last few practices.

Did host Scott Hamilton get taller since last week? Summer Sanders doesn't seem to tower over him as much tonight. Or, maybe I'm just used to seeing them together now so the height difference doesn't bother me as much. Well, the "witty" banter still sucks.

Let's get it on...

Before we begin, I have a couple of notes about the contestants on this show:

Isn't it sad how the announcer refers to Dave Coulier as being from Full House? I guess it could be worse. He could say, "Dave Coulier, allegedly the subject of Alanis Morrisette's very bitter You Oughta Know." I actually think he may be more famous for that.

Anyway... on with the show.

Now that I can finally watch more than one channel at a time, I decided to start watching Skating with Celebrities. Why, you ask? Sick fascination, I guess. It's like Dancing with the Stars with an added element of danger. And facial mutilation.

Here's what you need to know about the show, if you're joining me in adding this show to your viewing schedule: