TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I've been trying to figure out which Swiss Family Robinson is being released this week. It's not the 1960 movie with James MacArthur, and it's not the 1975 series that starred Martin Milner, Helen Hunt, Willie Aames, and Cameron Mitchell. It's at 1976 series from Canada. Not sure if I've ever seen that.

Another blast from the TV past: Parker Lewis Can't Lose!

• Eastbound & Down - Season 1
• Entourage - Season 5
• Eureka - Season 3
• The IT Crowd - Season 2

I've talked at length in the past about how much I've loved all the creative taglines Entourage has featured over it's previous five seasons. They're short and witty, yet the brevity always gets across the point of the season too. The latest promotional campaign for Entourage's upcoming sixth season is no exception:

"Life changes. Friends don't."

When we last left Vinny and the boys, they were gearing up for Marty Scorsese's Great Gatsby re-imagining and it began with moving home to Queens. Speculation seems to be leaning towards Vince finally getting his due and being recognized for what's sure to be a stand-out performance in a Scorsese classic.

E!'s Watch With Kristen is reporting that Zac Efron will be joining the Entourage gang for season six. Well, maybe not exactly joining the gang, but at least making a cameo on the HBO show.

Ok, so the question is, will he be playing himself? One of Ari Gold's newest It-Guys? An excitable young actor who tussles with Johnny Drama? My guess is that Efron will be playing himself, because he's becoming the Next Big Thing in Hollywood -- if he isn't already there.

And it just makes sense, because so many other stars have appeared as themselves on the show; notably, James Woods, though I've always wondered if he's as hot-headed as they make him out to be on the show. If so, he has quite the sense of humor about himself.

Spike TV, the network for men who like to watch other men kick the crap out of each other, has acquired the off-network rights to HBO's Entourage.

The show will be one of the few scripted comedies airing on the network known for dudes-only "reality" fare like The Ultimate Fighter and TNA Impact.

Entourage will hit Spike in January, after season six wraps on HBO. Spike nabbed all 78-produced eps for an all-cash license fee of about $600,000 each.

It occurred to me recently that there are more gay and lesbian characters on TV right now than ever before. That's pretty cool.

And they run the gamut from The L Word 's edgy Shane (pictured) to Desperate Housewives' funny Bob to Entourage's loyal Lloyd, who takes more verbal abuse from Ari Gold than anyone should ever be allowed to take.

See if you agree with my list of top gay characters on TV right now, and feel free to add your own in the comments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

10. Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moennig), The L Word

9. Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm), Desperate Housewives

8. Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys), Brothers & Sisters

7. Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), Grey's Anatomy

6. Guy Branum, Chelsea Lately

5. Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez), The Office

4. RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race

3. Most of the people on the Bravo network

2. Lloyd (Rex Lee), Entourage

1. Much of the cast of The Real World: Brooklyn

Want to see the pictures or leave a comment? Click here.

Did you like Just Shoot Me? It was one of those shows I didn't really watch when it was on NBC but later caught in syndicated reruns, and it was really an underrated sitcom. It was actually quite funny and had a great cast. When people talk about the great NBC sitcoms over the years they always talk about Seinfeld, NewsRadio, and Friends, and while Just Shoot Me wasn't up to the greatness of those shows, it was good and funny. Now one of the stars is joining HBO's Entourage.

George Segal will play a veteran manager/agent who Kevin Connolly's character looks up to and seeks for advice. It doesn't look like a permanent gig (The Hollywood Reporter describes his stint as a "multi-episode arc"), but I think he'll be a great addition. It might even make me get back to the show. I loved the first few seasons but it kinda lost me a couple of seasons ago.

But isn't that great casting? You can just picture Segal getting all loud and chomping on a cigar.

Bromances have been around, well, forever really, but you'd never use the term for say, Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte (48 Hours) or Paul Newman and Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). That just wouldn't be right! And besides that, when do "buddies" turn into "bromantic pals"? Would love to hear your thoughts on that.

At any rate, "bromance" is part of our language now, and it's even the title of an MTV show starring Brody Jenner and his buds.

I'm not ashamed to say I have girl-crushes on a few TV babes (True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse springs to mind), so it's not unfeasible for a guy to have a man-crush on another guy. I don't know if that's true for all these pairings, but since I'm writing this, we'll say it is. Take a look at my top ten bromances on TV right now:

I'm crazy for HBO, and one of the shows I'm really looking forward to is Boardwalk Empire, a pilot executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who's also directing), Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Terence Winter (who's also penning the pilot).

Based on the Nelson Johnson book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, the project chronicles the 1920s origins of Atlantic City, New Jersey. From what I've read, it sounds like a mix of The Departed, The Sopranos and Goodfellas -- all favorites of mine. And the cast they've got lined up couldn't be better.

Steve Buscemi plays Nucky Johnson, a businessman who runs a liquor distribution ring at the beginning of Prohibition. Michael Pitt (pictured) is in negotiations to play Jimmy Darmody, a bright, young, ruthless WWI veteran who serves as a flunky for Nucky, but yearns for more power.

As one of the few hits that's currently keeping HBO afloat, Entourage is still only a modest success - it's recent fifth season premiere hit a three-year low. Despite the lackluster ratings, HBO still gave the greenlight to a sixth season much earlier than expected... because, well, they don't have much else going on right now.

That being said, I'm a huge fan of the show and have been since it began. Yes, I'm one of the few that actually tuned in for the mostly ignored eight episode freshman season. I honestly don't see HBO pulling the plug without a true series finale at this stage in the series, but weirder things have happened and I want season six to roar back. So if you watch the show, great - glad to know you weren't part of that "three-year low" I mentioned. But if you used to watch Entourage, or never have, then this will be good for ya - the only six episodes you need to watch to know just what the heck is going on in the world of Vincent Chase.

One of the biggest victims in last year's Writers Guild strike was the Golden Globe awards. Fortunately, the SAG threats of a strike remain just that -- threats -- so the Globes are on and the nominations were announced this morning.

Unfortunately, there were few surprises among the TV noms. In fact, it's kind of worrisome that these nominations are way too similar to the Emmy nominations. Among the new network shows from this season, and last, very little.

NBC will broadcast the Golden Globes on January 11. For the complete list of the Globe noms, click here, and for some instant impressions on said noms, read on after the jump:

Maybe I should watch The Simpsons more often. The Writer's Guild of America has nominated FOX's long-running animated sitcom for best comedy series along with 30 Rock, The Office, Entourage and Weeds. This is the first time The Simpsons has nabbed a Best Comedy nom from the WGA. Considering that the show has been on for 19 years, I gotta ask -- Why now?

Did the success of The Simpson's Movie really re-energize the show's creative team that much? It's been years since I watched The Simpsons regularly, or even quoted the show in conversation with my friends. I figured its best days were behind it, but maybe I was wrong. The few eps I caught last season were pretty hit-and-miss. I wasn't too impressed with the Departed spoof, "The Debarted," but I really dug watching Homer invent grunge music in "That '90s Show." Were all the following eps as good as that one?

The WGA also nominated four episodes of The Simpsons in the category of best animation broadcast. Needless to say, I'll probably be tuning in when the series returns with fresh eps next year. Click through for a list of more WGA TV nominees.

(S05E12) "She's treating me like she usually treats Johnny." - Vince

Things certainly weren't looking good for Vince. But in true Entourage style, something always works out. Despite the fact that this was one of the strongest episodes of the season, I really wish it had ended differently.

• At 7, ABC has the American Music Awards Red Carpet, followed by the American Music Awards.
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
• NBC has Football Night In America at 7, followed by the Colts/Chargers game.
• At 8, FOX has 24: Redemption.
• Disney has a new Hannah Montana at 9, then the movie Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds.
• Showtime has a new Brotherhood at 8, followed by new episodes of Dexter and Californication.
• At 9, PBS has Masterpiece Special: The Unseen Alistair Cooke.
• HBO has a new True Blood at 9, followed by new episodes of Entourage and Summer Heights High.
• Lifetime has the movie Wisegal at 9.
• At 10, Comedy Central has A Colbert Christmas.
• Food Network has a best of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
  
• There's a new Skins on BBC America at 10.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Superjail.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Drinky Crow Show.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has a new Football Night In America, then the Cowboys/Redskins game.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by new episodes of King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• ABC has a new Extreme Makeover at 8, then new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece Contemporary.
• Food Network has the special Iron Chef America: Greatest Moments at 8, then the Iron Chef America Thanksgiving special and the season finale of Chef Jeff Project.
• Disney has a new Hannah Montana at 8.
• MTV has the TRL series finale at 8.
• Also at 8: Showtime has a new Brotherhood, then new episodes of Dexter and Californication.
• At 9, Nickelodeon has a new Nick News.
• HBO has a new True Blood at 9, followed by new episodes of Entourage and Summer Heights High.
• Comedy Central has the Jeff Dunham Very Special Christmas Special at 9.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has the Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode II special.

Check your local TV listings for more.