TVSquad

The new season of Sesame Street is right around the corner and, while I normally wouldn't give it a second thought, I am unusually excited right now. No, this isn't a snarky rant about how I've been driven to children's TV because of the sorry state of grown-up programming. Sesame Street's 39th season, starting August 11th, looks like it has a lot of fun lined up not only for the pre-schoolers but parents as well. I already posted Feist's upcoming special take on "1 2 3 4", but I had no idea how many amazing guest appearances were coming. Just check out this star-filled highlight reel after the jump.

(S19E06) "We're gonna be rich! We can finally afford to start a family!" -- Homer

"We have a family!" -- Marge

"A better one!" -- Homer

I think I have whiplash. One minute this week's The Simpsons was about the new comic book store in Springfield and the next Homer was getting his stomach stapled.

I didn't even think this was going to be a Homer-centric episode from the preview comments on the show.Heck, it didn't even seem like he was going to be on the episode at all since his first appearance was about 30 seconds before the second commercial break. When he suddenly became the focus I felt a stabbing pain in my neck.

I may have to sue.

No matter what I do to make my Oscar viewing experience bearable (parties, alcohol, hookers) I always end up wanting to put a gun in my mouth by hour two.

First, let me say that Ellen DeGeneres was very funny and did a great job hosting. Also the song by Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C Reilly was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

Now let me ask you this...how stupid were those dancers?

ABC really needs to stage an intervention with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It really does. Because, year in and year out, the Academy puts on an Oscars ceremony that not only runs far longer than the network intends, it just ends up boring the crap out of viewers, many of whom are asleep by the time the real categories are decided.

This year's ceremony ran from 8:30 PM ET (after a Road to the Oscars red-carpet special that was just pointless and dull) to about 12:15 AM. That's 3 hours and 45 minutes of speeches, montages, and musical numbers. My god; even the Grammys aren't that bloated, and it's nothing but musical numbers.

Julia told everyone about the new VH1 series The Department of Acceptable Media starring Jack Black back in November, and now there's a little more information available, such as when the heck the show will debut (March 23). Oh yeah, and it's not called The Department of Acceptable Media, anymore, it's simply called Acceptable TV.

The new series will feature several three-minute shorts in one episode, some created by regular folks like you and me, and some created by Jack Black and pals. Viewers will vote on which shows to dump and which ones to keep. If that sounds an awful lot like the Channel 101 site, that might be because Channel 101 helped create the series.

Shorts that are too hot for TV will made available online, and creators will also get a share of the ad revenue everytime their short is viewed online. You can watch some hysterical promos for the new series here.

[via Lost Remote]

Justin Timberlake might be having an identity crisis. When his new album first came out, he tried to make everyone think he was a bad-ass. He gave an interview to the British magazine Observer Music Montly where he said that he tried drugs. I believe the quote was, "I've done my fair share of drugs and I've been caught with my pants down."

Now he seems to be backing off his bad boy image by hosting the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Although, it's not like previous hosts of that show haven't had a dirtier side. Jack Black, for example, does some great kids stuff but his band Tenacious D is definitely not for kids.

To see Justin get slimed and screamed at by a crowd of pre-teens, the Kids Choice Awards air on March 31 at 8 pm on Nickelodeon.

(S32E07) I pretty much only know Matthew Fox as Jack from Lost, so I didn't really have any expectations going into the episode. As it turned out, Fox was an okay host. However, I thought the night's writing was fantastic. Even the worst sketch of the evening (usually one of those stragglers at the end of the episode) had its moments. I can't quite put my finger on what was done differently... All I know is that I was definitely laughing out loud more than usual.

This wasn't a particularly strong episode. Maybe I only feel this way because I was in a bad mood while watching the episode. I don't know. At least I laughed at the Popemobile within a Popemobile and the family of Vilsack ducks. Oh, speaking of Vilsack... I must praise the TDS writers for not going for a ballsack joke. It would have been easy. Too easy.

"Summit of All Fears": Bush met up wit Maliki again. So awkward.

I love it when stars get into petty fights. They're just like us!

Seems that Entourage star Jeremy Piven doesn't like Jack Black that much. Black beat out Piven for the role of the record store employee in the John Cusack flick High Fidelity, and thinks that Piven still holds a grudge. Black told Howard Stern that he was talking to a director at a movie premiere recently, and right in the middle of the conversation, Piven stepped in between them with his back to Black and started to talk to the director. Of course, Piven's rep insists there's no problem between the two.

This is interesting, because Piven is very good friends with Cusack, and appears in most of his movies in some role. So I wonder why (or if) Piven wasn't chosen for the role in High Fidelity.

[via Pop Candy]

Welcome to the post-YouTube world of television programming. Brookers got a development deal with Carson Daly. One half of Ask a Ninja signed with United Talent Agency, and now, Jack Black and friends are bringing viewer-produced comedy shorts along with their own original material to VH1.

Called The Department of Acceptable Media, the program is based on a live event that Jack Black, along with Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab, have hosted in Hollywood since 2003. At the live event, five-minute "pilots" by aspiring filmmakers are screened and the audience votes on their favorites. The televised program will work in the same way - viewers will vote online at www.acceptable.tv - for their favorite shorts. The winning "pilots" will get to produce a second episode. The losers will be canceled.

Dreamworks Animation and Nickelodeon are working together to explore the possibility of creating weekly series out of two Dreamworks movies. Paul Rugg (Freakazoid!) will write a spin-off from 2005's Madagascar that focuses on penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private. Tom Martin (The Simpsons) has been brought in to write the pilot for the series version of the upcoming Kung Fu Panda.

Due out in May 2008, Kung Fu Panda is the story of Po, the panda. While he is a kung fu fanatic, his body doesn't exactly lend itself to martial arts. But then events transpire that call on Po to save the day. It's like Hero, with more fur and slapstick comedy... and pandas... starring Jack Black. How can they go wrong?

I've always found Andy Dick to be a very talented, guy. I know, I know, a lot of people don't seem to like him, but, well, screw them.

I was checking out his offical web site, and besides finding out about the new film he has, Danny Roane: First Time Director (with an impressive cast: Ben Stiller, Maura Tierney, Jack Black, James Van Der Beek, and more), I also came across an entire page of free mp3s of songs he's written. Very entertaining. Check out "A. Dick Theme," about all the jokes that have been made about his last name (note: some songs are rather explicit).

I only caught the end of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards last night, but I did see it in time to catch Chris Rock win the Wannabe Award (like a Lifetime Acheivement Award). The best part was when his daughter ran up the stairs to be on stage with her dad. When he told the audience to 'say no to steroids', she said "no" into the microphone. What a cutie. He also made a joke about Todd Bridges, which got some adult laughs but flew right over those kids' heads. Other than that, I heard a lot of screaming kids. They sounded like they had fun.

Before I list the winners, I just have to say that it's funny how kids can humble you. We like to stick our noses in the air about 'quality' television shows and actors, but kids just like what they like. Here are some of the winners:

I've been hearing about this show for years, and now through the magical superwonders of You Tube, we can finally see it! Heat Vision and Jack was a comedy in the late 90s from Ben Stiller that starred Jack Black as an astronaut (ahem) who gets superpowers after a space accident, and fights crime with the talking motorcycle (voice of Owen Wilson), powered by the mind of his unemployed roommate. And if that description doesn't already have you laughing, it also stars Ron Silver, "as himself."

Funny opening from Stiller too: "Let's change cameras...as a person you admire, I'm giving you permission to appreciate this show. I'm also offering you my personal guarantee that it's going to knock you back onto your coal-mining asses. And that's a promise you won't be hearing from Georgie Lucas."

Who knows if this show could have maintained itself over several episodes, but judging from the pilot, I'd certainly rather watch this on FOX than The Loop or Free Ride.

[thanks to Bryce for the tip!]

Turner Broadcasting just inked a deal with NBC Universal that puts a bunch of movies, including this winter's King Kong, on its networks in 2008. Not sure if the NBC network had the first right of refusal on that movie, but you would think so.

Along with King Kong, Turner also bought the rights to air these movies in 2008:

• The Ice Harvest, starring Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack;
• Doom, starring The Rock;
• Two for the Money, starring Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey;
• Prime, starring Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman.