TVSquad

I know I have a problem. I don't need anyone to tell me that I was a child of television and it's been in my life all my life. Yes, I read. Yes, I listen to music. And, obviously I write.

But most of my writing these days is about television!

I recall the last writers strike. It was during that time that I wrote a really horrible horror novel to occupy my time outside of my day job. I'm not doing that again this time. I refuse to spend weeks writing dreck just because the television and film writers are on strike.

Following this spring's upfronts presentation and lackluster response from advertisers, NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker fired entertainment president Kevin Reilly. But, it appears Reilly will not be out of work for long. Various reports today say that he is in final negotiations to join Fox, under his former FX boss Peter Liguori.

This is a smart pairing for Fox. Liguori and Reilly brought mega-hits to FX including The Shield and Nip/Tuck. And, judging from this spring's upfronts presentation from Fox, the network could use some edgier programming. There's no doubt that Reilly has an eye for quality programming (Friday Night Lights), but his downfall with NBC was his inability to bring the network out of fourth place.

Are you a teenager? Do you like choosing things? Okay, good, because Teen Choice 2007 airs on FOX August 26 at 8:00 p.m., and we need to make sure you're at home that evening to see what series, celebrities and movies your contemporaries have chosen.

Teens have been choosing things for years. I myself have chosen my own adventure, Chosen or Losened (I'll check the dictionary to see if that's a real word later), and I've spoken to choosy moms who choose Jif. I've also had choice cuts of meat, and chosen Pikachu on numerous occasions.

Nominees and hosts for Teen Choice 2007 will be announced soon, but that's not important. What's important is that all you hula-hoopin', Charleston-dancin', domino-playin' teens out there start using your God-given right to choose. Or, more importantly, let your peers decide for you what's cool. Otherwise, you'll show up at your next ice cream social without a poodle skirt and then you'll look really stupid.

Martin Scorsese is developing a new series for HBO along with Mark Wahlberg about the development of Atlantic City. The new series will based on the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson, which was optioned by HBO.

Scorsese has been getting into television more and more, and it will be interesting to see what he and Wahlberg (who will both serve as executive producers) will come up with for this new series, but if it has to do with gambling, power struggles, and back stabbing, I can't think of anyone better suited to helming the project than Scorsese.

Wahlberg is also developing an English language version of the Israeli drama In Treatment for HBO.

As expected, Katie Couric didn't drastically change how the networks do the nightly news, though there were a few interesting tweaks and one major scoop.

Couric has been saying that she wants to go deeper into the news headlines, and she seems to be doing that, by having more than one guest come on during a story about the war. At the same time, there seems to be less stories covered in the half hour than there used to be. And, of course, the web is going to play a big part in the program. The broadcast is the very first to be simulcast on the web live, and Couric is keeping a blog. Well, she started it. Looks like "CBS & Co." will be contributing, which probably means that Couric won't do much at all and other staff members and reporters will do most of the blogging.

Donald Trump announced on the morning program Imus In The Morning, er, this morning, that his wife has given birth to a boy, though no name seems to have been chosen yet. This is the first child Trump and Melania have together, though this is not the first for Donald.

The question now is, would Trump date him?

Tonight was the premiere of Simon Cowell's newest invention, American Invention, and so far I'm liking the possibilities. I like the judges and I like their reasoning. The one question I have is, why are we seeing British judges on these "American" shows? Must be a buddy of Simon's.

Tonight's open casting calls includes New York and Los Angeles, where things got off to a pretty bleak start, complete with a public peeing tent and a "space beetle utopia" (i.e., a blastic bubble with a bunch of roaches running around in it.)

There were a few gems, and even some inspiring stories to accompany them. Here's what we saw make it tonight:

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, March 7, 2006:

• Andromeda - Vol 5.4
• Baby Looney Tunes - Volume 1: Playday Pals; Volume 2: Let's Play Pretend
• The Brady Bunch - The Complete 5th Season
• The Cosby Show - Season 2
• The Electric Company - The Best of The Best of The Electric Company
• The Flintstones - Season 5
• Hogan's Heroes - The Complete 3rd Season
• Lily the Witch - Volume 1; Volume 2
• Multiple Shows - Star Trek: The Borg Fan Collective
• Police Woman - The Complete 1st Season
• The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour - The Complete Series
• Three's Company - Season 6
• Underdog - The Best of Go-Go Gophers; The Best of Tennessee Tuxedo
• Walking Tall - The Complete Series
• Wild 'N Out - Season 1

Wow, I was able to pull off three consecutive weeks in a row without a missed show. Will it last? Who knows. Joel Keller joins me this week to go over a few TV related things, including some audio clips of his recent interview with Lisa Loeb. Other topics we discuss:

• What's with all the Maxim coverage lately?
• Rupert Murdoch is an old man
• Jon Stewart's a natural for hosting the Oscars
• Do ET and Access Hollywood really know what "breaking news" is anyway?
• Lisa Loeb loves Joel food
• Spoilers, of course
• And, once again, an update on the TV Squad Live project

Grab the file directly (link), subscribe to our podcast RSS feed (link), or visit the iTunes music store (link).  (Running time: 38:07)

Want to contact us about the podcast and maybe have your email read next time? Make sure you contact us at tvsquad@gmail.com.

(UPDATE: This podcast now has its own iTunes feed. The link above now points to the new feed for just this podcast, though the old one will still contain all TV Squad podcasts.)

There was a lot of way-paving in this episode, especially with regards to the future of the presidency. Baltar sneaks in for some significant lines, ones that finally, once and for all, show that his name will be on the election ballot when the time comes, right there next to the madam.

Another thing to consider is the new law put into effect regarding abortions. My first thought is that this will likely affect the Cylon baby, once it's born. Will they try to apply this new law to that case, as it'll be a hybrid child?

Last week's winners:

1 star to Ashley Boyd: Creature: "Hmm, I can't decide what looks worse. His blue screen, or my crappy CGI?"
2 stars to Kevbo: "What? This storm doesn't rate a standup from Anderson Cooper? I'm crawling back into the sea."
3 stars to Jason: "Many people don't realize that it was young Godzilla's habit of watching too much violent TV that led to his blatent social problems later in life."

All stars from past contests have finally been awarded. See, I wasn't holding out on you!

This week, a familiar and, um, frightening sight for Arrested Development fans:

You may remember Lucy Lawless playing fleet reporter D'Anna Biers earlier in the series, the episode ending with the surprising revelation that she is a Cylon. Reporter Biers will be returning not only for the February 24th episode of the show, but she'll also be appearing in ten episodes next season. The really great news here is that they're already lining up people for the third season, which is always good news for a show's continued lifespan.

The excitement that is rock and roll, by and large, has always had difficulty coming across on television. The television screen puts limitations on the visuals of a rock and roll show, especially the feedback the crowd gives the band when they're playing well. Plus, rock and roll is meant to play loud, and no matter how loud you put the volume up on your television, most of the time it just doesn't translate.

However, there have been a few times where rock and roll has transcended the television screen and brought across truly memorable moments. Of course, when The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, it was such an historic event that what you heard didn't matter--it was only what you saw. A few years ago, U2 played at halftime of the Super Bowl, and again, although the sound was a bit murky, their performance was so mesmerizing that people still talk about.

This year's Super Bowl halftime show featured The Rolling Stones. As big a fan as I am (I've seen them live over 20 times), I was curious to see how they would come across on television. They've been appearing on TV for over 40 years, so they know the drill, and Mick Jagger certainly knows how to play to the cameras.

OK, I admit I dropped the ball on providing reviews of each episode of this series, though I've definitely been watching it religiously. Once this first season is over, I'll provide a recap. What's that? Did I say "season?" Yep, that's right -- a second season is coming for Showtime's Masters of Horror. While a list of directors for next season hasn't been listed yet, be prepared for an additional 13 episodes for season two.

We should create a new category called "no brainer" for TV Squad, where a post like this one would be placed. NBC has decided to give the OK to new seasons of both The Office and My Name is Earl, granting each another 22-episode run in their next go around. Ever since NBC moved the two shows to Thursday night, there hasn't been a drop in ratings, which I guess is their cue for signing the dotted line.

I'm sure the Golden Globe received by The Office's main star didn't hurt matters, either.