TVSquad

This past weekend (May 24) marked the fourth anniversary of the death of comic and writer Drake Sather. No one knows what goes on in the mind of someone who takes their own life, but this guy was brilliant and quite funny. Besides his great standup work, he was a writer and producer on NewsRadio (he also played Jimmy James' attorney in two different episodes of the show), and also wrote for such shows as Saturday Night Live, Ed, The Dennis Miller Show, Sammy,The Naked Truth, Empty Nest, and The Larry Sanders Show. He also wrote the movie Zoolander.

After the jump is a standup routine from Sather, filmed at the San Diego Improv in 1992 (split up into three different videos). It's actually rather amazing that a lot of funny bits and lines that I've used over the past 10 years came from Sather.

So sad, but his work does live on.

When I first heard that Dennis Miller was going to host a game show, I thought to myself "yeah, I covered that already." But I didn't know that the show I had written about had already ended and this was a new game show he was going to host.

The previous one was Grand Slam, the GSN show that pitted former game show champs (like Ken Jennings) against each other. Looks like that show only lasted one season (hopefully I can catch the reruns), but Miller isn't through with game shows yet. He's going to host the new NBC show Amnesia, which will premiere on NBC in the 1 vs. 100 slot when that show ends its season.

• At 8, ABC has a new Caveman, followed by new episodes of Carpoolers, Dancing with the Stars, and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, then new episodes of The Unit and Cane.
• NBC has a new, two hour Biggest Loser at 8, then a new Law and Order: SVU.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and House.
• There's a new Beauty and the Geek on The CW at 8, followed by a new Reaper.
• PBS has a new Nova at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has two of James Ellroy's movie picks: Stakeout on Dope Street and Murder By Contract.
• At 9, Food Network has their All Star Thanksgiving, then a new Two Dudes Catering.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Nip/Tuck.
• Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Orange County at 10.
• TLC has a new Miami Ink at 10.
• At 10:30, Versus has a new Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new Cavemen, followed by new episodes of Carpoolers, Dancing with the Stars, and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, then new episodes of The Unit and Cane.
• FOX has new episodes of Bones and House.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Biggest Loser, then a new Law and Order: SVU.
• There's a new Beauty and the Geek on The CW at 8, followed by a new Reaper.
• PBS has a new Nova at 8, then a new Frontline.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Spice Up My Kitchen, then new episodes of Decorating Cents, 24 Hour Design and House Hunters.
• At 9 on CNN, Larry King interviews Robert Redford.
• ESPN has the two hour season finale of The Contender at 9.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Orange County.
• Versus has the series premiere of Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller at 10, with guests Curt Schilling and Al Michaels.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
• Also at 10: FX has a new Nip/Tuck.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Two Dudes Catering.

Check your local TV listings for more.

When Dennis Miller took over doing the color commentary on Monday Night Football several years back, fans of the show either loved him completely or hated him completely. You either really dug his arcane references and humor or you sighed a lot and wondered why he was in the booth (for the record, I don't really like football, so I didn't mind him in the booth at all). Now sports fans can relive those glory days!

Let's give Dennis Miller credit: the man isn't afraid to try new things. He's been a comedian, an actor, a sports announcer, a political pundit (of sorts), a talk show host, and a radio show host.

Now, he's going to host a game show.

On August 7, Miller will host Grand Slam on the Game Show Network, a new series that will test players' knowledge in math, verbal skills and current events. The twist is that all of the contestants were big winners on other game shows. Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings will appear on the new game show, along with past winners of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

• Charlie Rose: Al Gore
• The Late Show With David Letterman: Kevin Spacey and Alexis Bledel
• Jay Leno: Dennis Miller and Dwight Yoakam
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: David Spade, John Ratzenberger, and Kaiser Chiefs (repeat)
• Tavis Smiley: Jonathan Demme, Chick Corea, and Bela Fleck
• Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Dane Cook and Apolo Ohno
• The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Bob Saget, Jade, and Guy Torry
• Last Call With Carson Daly: Silversun Pickups and Hi-Fidelity