TVSquad

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.

• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• FOX has a new, two-hour So You Think You Can Dance at 8.
• PBS has a new Click & Clack's As The Wrench Turns at 8, then a new NovascienceNOW.
• At 9, NBC has a new Baby Borrowers, followed by a new Celebrity Circus.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9.
• History Channel has Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight at 9.
• There's a new Costas Now on HBO at 9.
• Bravo has a new Project Runway at 9, then a new Shear Genius.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Crime.
• TruTV has a new Black Gold at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• Also at 10: Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new, two hour So You Think You Can Dance.
• PBS has a new Click & Clack's As The Wrench Turns at 8, then a new Nova scienceNOW.
• At 9, NBC has a new Baby Borrowers, followed by a new Celebrity Circus.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• HGTV has a new Deserving Design at 9, followed by a new Design on a Dime.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International at 9, then two new episodes of Scare Tactics.
• At 10, ABC has a new Primetime: Crime.
• There's a new Black Gold on TruTV at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Shear Genius.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• At 8:30, G4 has their Comic Con '08 Live Preview.
• At 9, NBC has a new Baby Borrowers, followed by a new Celebrity Circus.
• PBS has a new Nova scienceNOW at 9.
• Also at 9: Sundance Channel has a new On The Road In America.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, TruTV has a new Black Gold.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• Bravo has a new Shear Genius at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new episode of The Real World.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia.

Check your local TV listings for more.

For the past two weeks, I've been catching NBC's Celebrity Circus after So You Think You Can Dance aired. Even if this means I only saw 2/3 of both Circus episodes, I saw enough of the show to know that soul singer Blu Cantrell needs to learn some manners.

I didn't know the American Grammy Award-nominated R&B singer before last week's premiere of Circus so I had no expectations. Even if I was mildly amused by the feature that showed her trying to learn her first performance, The Spanish Web, in between her sleeping here, there and everywhere and being lazy, and was somewhat entertained by her demonstration on the show, Blu Cantrell can't count me out as a potential fan of hers.

If you haven't watched this week's episode, stop reading now.

• At 8, FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, followed by a new Celebrity Circus.
• At 9, The CW has a new Farmer Wants A Wife.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime, then a new House Hunters.
• At 10, TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
• Tru TV has the series premiere of Black Gold at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has the Top Chef Reunion.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia.

Check your local TV listings for more.

SOAPnet has landed a big star to anchor the second season of General Hospital: Night Shift. As TV Squad mentioned previously, Antonio Sabato, Jr., who was rumored to be returning as Jagger Cates, has signed on the dotted line. When Night Shift returns to SOAPnet on Tuesday, July 22, the character of Jagger, played by Antonio Sabato, Jr. will be front and center.

Jagger Cates has not been involved in General Hospital since 1995, so presumably he's older and wiser. But since Antonio is still playing the role, he's going to definitely be as gorgeous as ever. Interestingly, if Antonio is booked, what's the likelihood that Steve Burton will be there as Jason?.

For week two of Celebrity Circus, ex-Brady Buncher Christopher Knight will set himself ablaze as he performs "fire clowning." I wonder how Adrienne Curry feels about this. It's got to raise some suspicions about your husband's sanity if he's willing to set himself on fire for reality TV.

Here's some of the other stupid things the celebs will be doing this week on the show:

Wee Man battling the German Wheel, the same act in which Knight broke his arm. Wee Man will be paired with trainer Vladimir Sizov for a synchronized act. Stacey Dash will perform on the Cerceau alongside trainer Sacha Fedorchev. Dash will be creating a sexy and high-energy routine flying 50 feet above the ground with no safety line or harness. Antonio Sabato Jr. will push himself to the limit doing a hand-balancing act with his partner and trainer Christine Van Loo. There will be no room for errors as any little mistake could lead to serious injury.

• At 8, FOX has a new, two hour So You Think You Can Dance.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, followed by the premiere of Celebrity Circus.
• At 9, The CW has a new Farmer Wants A Wife.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• Spike has a new UFC Unleashed at 9, then a new Ultimate Fighter.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, ABC has the series finale of Men in Trees.
• The Top Chef season finale airs on Bravo at 10.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne starting at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new episode of The Real World.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia.

Check your local TV listings for more.

On Friday I attended the All-American Summer Press Event held by NBC Universal. The event was held at the Langham Hotel (formerly the Ritz-Carlton) in Pasadena, CA. It included the casts and producers of the following shows: American Gladiators, Nashville Star, Shear Genius, and Last Comic Standing. NBC also held panels for two new shows: Celebrity Circus and Baby Borrowers.

Find out what Wolf said and what's in store for next season on NBC and Bravo after the jump...

Former 'N Sync-er Joey Fatone has landed another hosting gig with NBC. He'll be at the ringmaster of NBC's updated version of Circus of the Stars, called Celebrity Circus. It's basically the same idea as the '80s show, where celebrities will attempt to master the high wire, trapeze, yada yada yada. Except it has the modern reality show must-have: a row of judges who will critique their performances.

Here are the "celebrities" who have agreed to participate:

• Christopher Knight, aka 'Peter Brady'
  
• Rachel Hunter, model
  
• Antonio Sabato Jr.,
  
• Blu Cantrell, singer
  
• Janet Evans, Olympic swimmer
  
• Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, of Jackass fame

Looks like there's only room for one reality show about TV celebrities walking a tightrope and juggling bowling pins.

ABC has actually changed its mind and will not produce a remake of Circus of the Stars. They decided that because NBC was already doing a celebs-under-the-big-top show (called Celebrity Circus), they didn't want to do one too. Instead, to fill the time slot, the network plans to do another celebrity reality series that features Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Britney Spears competing to see who can be the first to get impregnated by Dustin Diamond.

(OK, I just made that up.)

NBC has brought back American Gladiators to good ratings, and now ABC wants to bring back a show from TVs past. The network is bringing back Circus of the Stars, the specials that had TV stars walking highwires, training tigers, swinging on a trapeze, and juggling. And NBC isn't staying out of the celebrity circus game. In fact, they have a new show coming up that's actually titled Celebrity Circus.

Eh. This isn't the 80s celebrity competition show I want to see come back. How about one of the networks (or all, they can rotate) bringing back Battle of the Network Stars? That might be fun strike viewing. And no, I'm not talking about that lame, horrifying Battle of the Reality TV Stars from a few years back. I want to see Jon Stewart steering a kayak, Matthew Fox throwing a football, but mostly I want to see the blond chick from Chuck in a wet bathing suit.

As for Circus of the Stars, I think the only thing that might make me tune in is the possibility of seeing Dr. Phil eaten by a lion.