TVSquad

Just because one network's venture into viral video greatness went belly up like so many silver leotard wearing contestants before them doesn't mean the craze has ended.

Next week marks the premiere of MTV's newest reality game show Silent Library, based on the game of the same name from the Japanese variety show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!

For those who don't spend time watching videos forwarded to them by their friends and are therefore productive members of society, the game is played by six dunderheads in a "library." They each draw a card, five reading safe and one with a skull and crossbones on it. The player who draws the Jolly Roger has to do an uncomfortable or painful stunt, but must resist the urge to scream. It's the least intelligent use of a library since The Da Vinci Code hit the shelves.

• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, followed by the series premiere of Kings and a new Celebrity Apprentice.
  
• FOX has a new Hole in the Wall at 7, then new episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• ABC Family has the movie Au Pair 3: Adventure in Paradise at 8.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, followed by a new Iron Chef America.
• Also at 8: Disney has a new Sonny with a Chance, then a new Wizards of Waverly Place.
• At 9, MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, followed by new episodes of The CollegeHumor Show, Nitro Circus, and How's Your News?
• HBO has a new Big Love at 9, then new episodes of Flight of the Conchords and Eastbound & Down.
• At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
• Showtime has a new United States of Tara at 10.
• Comedy Central has the Larry The Cable Guy Roast at 10.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Delocated, followed by a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listing for more.

• TCM is showing Elvis Presley movies all night.
• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, then new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
  
• CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, followed by new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit.
  
• NBC has Saturday Night Live Just Game Show Parodies at 7, then Saturday Night Live Just Commercials, and then a new, two-hour Celebrity Apprentice.
  
• FOX has a new Hole in the Wall at 7, followed by new episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• At 8, Food Network has a new Challenge.
  
• Discovery has two new episodes of Rampage at 8, then Hudson Plane Crash: What Really Happened.
• Showtime has The L Word Finale Special at 8, followed by the series finale and new episodes of The United States of Tara and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
• At 9, HBO has a new Big Love, followed by new episodes of Flight of the Conchords and East Bound & Down.
• MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory at 9, then new episodes of The CollegeHumor Show, Nitro Circus, and How's Your News?
• At 10, AMC has the season premiere of Breaking Bad.
  
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Delocated, followed by a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 6:30, CBS has the Ravens/Steelers game, then a new episode of The Mentalist.
  
• At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7.
• There's a new Hole in the Wall on FOX at 7.
• ESPN has The Australian Open at 7.
• At 8, ABC Family has the movie Another Cinderella Story.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then a new Ultimate Recipe Showdown.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic.
• HBO has the season premiere of Big Love at 9, followed by the season premiere of Flight of the Conchords.
• Showtime has the season premiere of The L Word at 9, then the series premiere of The United States of Tara. and the season premiere of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
  
• Nickelodeon has a new Nick News at 9.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Robot Chicken.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Drinky Crow Show.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 6, TBS has the Brewers/Phillies game, followed by the Dodgers/Cubs.
• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8.
• NBC has two new episodes of My Name Is Earl at 8.
• FOX has a new Hole in the Wall at 8.
• The CW has new episodes of Smallville and Supernatural.
• At 8:30, HGTV has new episodes of Myles of Style, Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• At 9, many channels have the Vice Presidential Debate, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, and CSPAN.
• GAC has a new Superstar Sessions at 9, then a new GAC Nights.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, FOX has a new Hole in the Wall, then a new Kitchen Nightmares.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 8.
• The CW has the season premiere of Smallville at 8, followed by the season premiere of Supernatural.
• TruTV has two new episodes of Speeders at 8, then two new episodes of The Principal's Office.
• Discovery has a new NextWorld at 8, followed by a new Smash Lab.
• Nickelodeon has another new episode of My Family's Got GUTS at 8.
• At 8:30, ESPN has College Football, West Virginia vs. Colorado.
• At 9, History Channel has a new Modern Marvels.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Dragon's Den.
• At 10, CBS has a new Flashpoint.
• USA has the season finale of Burn Notice at 10.
• FX has the season premiere of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night listings.

I love quirky and unique game shows as much as the next guy, but can you really base a whole show off of people trying to fit their bodies into a shape in a wall before they get pushed into a pool of water? FOX thinks so, with their new game show Hole in the Wall. I know it's a huge hit overseas, I just don't get why. Maybe if the challenge were just one of several different types of challenges in a show, it'd be more compelling.

If every week on Survivor the challenge was to stand on a pole out in the water until you were the last man standing ... every week the same thing ... I think that show would have gone off the air a long time ago. And yet, FOX seems to think we can watch this for an hour a week and keep tuning in. Of course, we keep tuning into Deal or No Deal which is basically just picking briefcases so maybe we can.

• At 8, FOX has a new Hole in the Wall, then a new Kitchen Nightmares.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• Discovery has a new Some Assembly Required at 8.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Myles of Style.
• At 9, TLC has a new American Chopper.
  
• Cartoon Network has a new Total Drama Island at 9.
• BBC America has a new Dragon's Den at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new Flashpoint.
• USA has a new Burn Notice at 10.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has the premiere of Top Pop Group.

Check your local TV listings for more.

We've only been into the new season for a few days, but some ratings numbers are already in. Looks like people love robots and prisons but might be getting sick of vampires.

On Monday, NBC won the night, with its lineup of Deal Or No Deal (9.6 million viewers), America's Toughest Jobs (6.5), and Dateline (6.2), but FOX won in the all-important 18 to 49 demographic with its lineup of the Sarah Connor Chronicles season premiere and a new episode of Prison Break. The Sarah Connor Chronicles grabbed 6.3 million viewers, while Prison Break did even better, with 6.5 million. CBS beat NBC in the 18-49 demo with their lineup of comedy repeats. ABC was fourth and The CW was fifth.

• At 5 all this week, Nickelodeon has new episodes of The Mighty B.
• At 8, FOX has the series premiere of Fringe, then a new Hole in the Wall.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8, followed by Fashion Rocks.
• ABC has two new episodes of Wipeout at 8, then a new Primetime: Medical Mysteries.
• NBC has a new, two-hour America's Got Talent.
• There's a new 90210 on The CW at 8, followed by the series premiere of Privileged.
• Also at 8: ESPN has two episodes of The World Series of Poker.
• ABC Family has a new Secret Life on the American Teenager at 8, then a new Greek.
• At 8:40, BBC America has a new Gavin & Stacey.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Eureka at 9, followed by a new ECW.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new Road Tasted with The Neelys.
• At 10, A&E has a new episode of The Cleaner.
• FX has a new episode of The Shield at 10.
• Lifetime has a How To Look Good Naked at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7 (or after the Men's U.S. Open Men's Semi-Final), CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by new episodes of Big Brother and the U.S. Open Women's Final).
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Bears vs. the Colts.
• At 8, FOX has the premiere of Hole in the Wall.
• ABC Family has a new Samurai Girl at 8.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then a new episode of Iron Chef America and the premiere of Feasting on Waves.
• At 9, ABC has the special America United: In Support of Our Troops.
• PBS has a new Masterpiece at 9.
• MTV has the 2008 MTV Music Video Awards at 9.
• HBO has the series premiere of True Blood at 9, followed by the season premiere of Entourage.
• At 10, Lifetime has a new Army Wives.
• There's a new Mad Men on AMC at 10.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Robot Chicken.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Metalocalypse, then a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

In general, you could mark me down as a fan of reality TV. I've never missed Survivor, written thousands of words about Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, and despite what my daily uniform of jeans, t-shirt, and Chuck Taylors would suggest, I even watch Project Runway. The one show I actively root against though, is Moment Of Truth.

I just can't find anything to like about the show, from the concept right on through to the execution. It's with that in mind that I excitedly clicked on the entry in my feed reader telling me that Hole In The Wall was replacing it. Hosted by Brooke Burns (Dog Eat Dog), Hole In The Wall is the latest incarnation of a game popularized in Japan. Before the jump to the US there were already successful adaptations in a number of other countries.

The success has a lot to do with the simplicity of the concept. A wall, with a shape cut in it, moves toward the contestants and they have to contort their body to pass through the hole or be swept into the water. As they fail to do so, hilarity ensues, hopefully. Get a look for yourself, after the jump.

Hole in the Wall, this summer's latest Japanese game show ripoff, has announced its hosts. Actress Brooke Burns and L.A. weather anchor Mark Thompson will be presiding over Fox's version of human Tetris. Both have game show experience, with Burns having served as the host of Dog Eat Dog and Thompson providing the voiceover for Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Hole is being brought to America by American Idol producers FremantleMedia North America and came to be after clips of the Japanese version became hugely popular on YouTube. Ellen DeGeneres also got a kick out of the Japanese competition, not only featuring several clips on her talk show, but even going so far as having audience members participate in her own version.

If you've had enough of shows being imported to the US from the UK, maybe some Japanese grown entertainment will work for you. On the heels of ABC's upcoming Wipeout, and Fox's Hole In The Wall, another popular Japanese game show could be crossing the Pacific.

Vin Di Bona Productions, of America's Funniest Home Videos fame, has acquired the rights to Masquerade (Kasou Taishou). The show, which the linked article calls Japan's longest running hit series, finds contestants using costumes, props, and sets to create performances that trick the eye. Sound confusing? I thought so too. There are a couple videos of just what that entails after the jump. Having now watched them, it is an interesting concept, but I don't see it being an idea that works as a weekly series. As far as I can tell, it's only done a couple of times a year in Japan. That sounds much more reasonable to me. Of course, I never would have guessed that dad getting hit in the nuts with a Wiffle ball bat would still be working after 19 years either.

[ via Reuters ]

Human Tetris: It's the stupidest, simplest idea ever for a game show... which makes it frickin' brilliant! (Although, my co-worker, Joel, does not agree) Audiences in Japan and Denmark are nuts for it. That was enough for Fox to go from ordering one pilot to grabbing up an entire season, based on the popularity of the shows overseas and on the internet.

The version coming to American television next season is called Hole in the Wall. This game show is about people contorting their bodies to fit through an odd-shaped hole in a wall. The wall comes flying at them and they have to fit through the hole or be pushed into a pool of water. Simple, right? And it's going to be addictive as hell.