TVSquad

One of the long-time staples on cable has been The Soup (formerly Talk Soup) on E!. What started as a spoof of the various bizarre and goofy talk shows that permeated the airwaves throughout the '90s was reborn as a show that makes fun of all things television and pop culture now. Now the brand is seeking to expand to provide the same brand of satire and commentary to the sports world. Sister network Versus will air Sports Soup twice a week beginning October 14th, 2008. Of course, as with Joel McHale on The Soup the success of its new sister show will rest solely on the shoulders of its host, Matt Iseman.

In looking at Iseman's Wiki entry, it looks like this show was originally branded After Further Review. I guess they thought associating it with an already successful show with a similar format would improve its ratings. The network is still trying to establish itself as a viable sports brand in the ESPN world. Adding a show like this might be just the thing they need to drum up some buzz.

After years of reaching US audiences as only a series of forwarded video clips and teh internetz, the original Channel 4 British sitcom The IT Crowd is finally coming to American TV. The IFC Channel has picked up the series and will begin airing it September 29.

I had to make an extra point to specify that this is the UK IT Crowd and not the NBC remake starring original cast member Richard Ayoade and Joel McHale. No, no, that project is still dead. As much as I love Ayoade and McHale, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved that the show didn't take off. I'd rather get my fix from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Soup than see them attempt to tip-toe through that dangerous territory of American remakes.

No doubt envious of all the buzz The Soup is getting, E!'s sister channel, Style Network, is planning their own version. Premiering August 16th, The Dish will cover more topics than The Soup including TV, celebrities, fashion and beauty. Here's the kicker though: The Dish is set to be hosted by Topanga herself, Boy Meets World's Danielle Fishel.

Style executive VP Salaam Coleman sums up The Dish's appeal, saying, "What's great about The Dish is that it takes a not-so-serious look at the often very serious world of fashion and finds the comedy in celebrity lifestyle." Well yes, that would be great--in theory.

The problem is, this is a type of show that is very difficult to do well. You need a strong group of writers and a charismatic host. While The Soup may be the toast of the town now, it kind of sucked when it first aired. While two of The Soup's executive producers are behind The Dish, I'm not sure if Danielle is going to quite have the "pop" that this show is going to need.

(S01E06) Up until now, we've only seen Emerson as a gruff P.I. whose role was to throw a sprinkle of cynicism on the decidedly sprightly environment around the Pie Hole. But you knew that eventually we were going to either find out more about his past or see him get involved with one of the people he was investigating. Tonight we got the latter. And his dalliance did a nice job of throwing some needed darkness into what was an overly-sweet episode.

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

It would appear that the adaptation of UK sit-com The IT Crowd might need more than Roy's famous reboot fix. According to reports, NBC is set to pull the plug on the midseason comedy. If you haven't been playing along at home, the show is to be a joint production between Universal Media Studios and Freemantle Media. It's an ensemble comedy, set in an IT department, starring Joel McHale (The Soup) and Rocky Carroll (Invasion).

If you love The Soup on E!, then you're not me, because I don't.

Nevertheless, the weekly funny round-up of all things reality TV-ish and talk show-y will be expanding to two nights a week starting June 18.

In addition to its usually spot on Friday nights at 10:00, six special episodes will air on Monday nights at the same time. These special episodes will offer a look back on some of the best moments from the past year, complete with new commentary from host Joel McHale. Here's what's on tap:

Does anyone really need another cop drama with procedural elements? NBC seems to think so. Personally, I would be all for a moratorium on all new dramas that feature cops, doctors, or lawyers. But I suppose if you they are going to create yet another of these shows, hiring David Shore, the creator of House, and adding Famke Janssen as the lead is a good place to start. Adam mentioned the show back in October. It still doesn't have an official title, but the addition of Janssen is a good sign that things are moving along. Or a bad sign, if you've had your fill of cops.

In other casting news at the peacock network, Rocky Carroll (Chicago Hope) has signed on to play the corporate boss in the pilot of The IT Crowd. A remake of a UK comedy, the show also features Joel McHale, Richard Ayoade, and Jessica St. Clair as the hapless IT team at a major corporation. The original was very funny, but you can flip a coin on how this is going to turn out. It's a tricky bit of business updating these shows for the American audience. Having Ayoade reprise his role as Moss can't hurt though.

The E! network is the latest to make its shows available on iTunes. No, you can't buy 100 Biggest Celebrity Oops or 100 Most Starlicious Makeovers (who would want to?). But, you can buy some of its other original programming like The Girls Next Door, Dr. 90210, The Simple Life, and The Soup. Joel McHale on my video iPod? Hot damn!

Episodes cost the usual $1.99.

Tomorrow to help kick off Tony Danza's final week as a talk-show host, Danza is welcoming the one person you'd least expect to be a guest on his show.

That's right, tomorrow morning The Tony Danza Show has Joel McHale of The Soup. Now, I know what you're all thinking. Doesn't Joel McHale make a living by doing nothing other than bash on Tony Danza on his his E! program? Well, yeah... he does. Which is why I can only assume that tomorrow's episode of Danza will be one of the funniest things on TV this week. I mean, what happens when Tony busts out one of his classic "danzitions" and McHale nails him on the spot for it?

For those that don't watch The Soup, a "danzition" refers to the method Tony uses to move from one topic to the next and they usually run something like this: "So look at my nails, they're all shiny because I had a manicure done... oh, I almost forgot, _____ _____ died." Now you understand why I can't wait for tomorrow. 

Oh and it's worth mentioning that the final episode of The Tony Danza Show airs this Friday.