TVSquad

I guess NBC is getting the last laugh. Sort of. Well, not really. Nevertheless, when they first launched The Singing Bee in 2007, the FOX copycat machine was in full effect. In fact, NBC had to push up the premiere of Bee to try and get an edge on FOX's Don't Forget the Lyrics. But while Lyrics has been canceled, Bee is still going strong. Just not on NBC.

Actually, by broadcast network standards, it's still doing horrible, but its 1.5 million viewer debut back in June on CMT was enough to make it the highest-rated series debut ever on the network. CMT is so excited with The Singing Bee, they've asked for 20 more installments. The show went country when it switched to CMT, dumping Joey Fatone in favor of Melissa Peterman (Reba) as host, and focusing more on the sad, sad lyrics that make up country music.

If I were NBC, I'd go ahead and get excited about this. Sure, they canceled the show and it was performing horribly for them. But by doing so, they created a big hit for CMT. And they can still claim that their show outlasted FOX's copycat. Sort of. Well, not really.

For the past two weeks, I've been catching NBC's Celebrity Circus after So You Think You Can Dance aired. Even if this means I only saw 2/3 of both Circus episodes, I saw enough of the show to know that soul singer Blu Cantrell needs to learn some manners.

I didn't know the American Grammy Award-nominated R&B singer before last week's premiere of Circus so I had no expectations. Even if I was mildly amused by the feature that showed her trying to learn her first performance, The Spanish Web, in between her sleeping here, there and everywhere and being lazy, and was somewhat entertained by her demonstration on the show, Blu Cantrell can't count me out as a potential fan of hers.

If you haven't watched this week's episode, stop reading now.

If you thought The Singing Bee was bad, wait till you get a load of this. TLC is premiering it's new show The Singing Office at the end of June. The show will be hosted by ex-*NSYNCer Joey Fatone and ex-Spice Girl Mel B. Each week, Joey and Mel B. will surprise a different office and hold an impromptu audition. From each location, they will recruit a team of five for the next round of competiton. Once formed, the teams will go to "boot camp" as the hosts coach the teams on both their performance quality and their singing. Finally, the teams will compete on stage for a shot at $50,000.

Former 'N Sync-er Joey Fatone has landed another hosting gig with NBC. He'll be at the ringmaster of NBC's updated version of Circus of the Stars, called Celebrity Circus. It's basically the same idea as the '80s show, where celebrities will attempt to master the high wire, trapeze, yada yada yada. Except it has the modern reality show must-have: a row of judges who will critique their performances.

Here are the "celebrities" who have agreed to participate:

• Christopher Knight, aka 'Peter Brady'
  
• Rachel Hunter, model
  
• Antonio Sabato Jr.,
  
• Blu Cantrell, singer
  
• Janet Evans, Olympic swimmer
  
• Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, of Jackass fame

Like I said yesterday, the press kits have started to come in to the TV Squad offices. Some of them are way cool, some are downright silly and some are nonexistent. Just last week I got one in from the TV Guide Channel for their upcoming red carpet coverage of the Emmy awards. OK, sounds reasonable, right?

When I opened the box and the hermetically sealed canister within, what I saw made me fear that I had just unleashed some unseen beast unto my unsuspecting family. As it turns out, only my dog was in danger.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• So the Emmys are going to be younger, fresher, more enthusiastic this year. What does that look like? Joey Fatone.
• The Heroes world tour might be coming to a city near you! Probably not, but maybe.
  
• Mark Burnett's new game show sounds kind of boring.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Fox has ordered up a second season of its summer game show, Don't Forget the Lyrics! The network has reportedly ordered 13 more episodes but has not given them any air dates. They could resurface next summer or as a mid-season replacement if and when one of its new shows tanks.

Don't Forget the Lyrics! is a karaoke-themed game show that is similar to one on NBC called The Singing Bee. Both premiered to decent ratings and fellow TV Squadder, Isabelle, prefers The Singing Bee over Fox's version. I only saw the premiere of Don't Forget the Lyrics! and I found it very entertaining, but that had to do with the entomologist contestant who knew all the words to the Jackson 5's A-B-C and wanted to buy a microscope with her winnings.

The first ingredient in a successful TCA party is to have it near the hotel where the tour is taking place. After sitting in panels and conducting interviews all day long, a shuttle bus ride to a faraway restaurant isn't really enticing.

So kudos to NBC for making a smart move by having its all-star gala on the roof of the Beverly Hilton's parking lot. It's an elevator ride away and the area is wide open. The party music isn't so loud that it's going to drown out any interviews. Nice.

Swag alert: guests received mini handheld fans upon arriving, but they weren't really needed because there was a nice evening breeze in the air.

NBC's new lineup continued on day two of its press presentation with Chuck, a one-hour drama by Josh Schwartz and McG, the creative team that brought viewers The O.C. The new series stars Zachary Levi, best known for his four years on Less Than Perfect.

If we're supposed to like Chuck, Levi's well cast in the role. He has a self-effacing way about him, especially when asked if he's bulked up over the last few years. He jokes he's eaten a lot of pizza and doesn't work out as much as he should.

Co-star Adam Baldwin is asked a question pretty much everyone knows the answer to. No, he's not related to the famous acting Baldwin brothers of Long Island. Baldwin jokes he hopes to meet Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) now that they're both on NBC so they can settle this in person.

This week, two networks premiered game shows that are really similar. NBC launched The Singing Bee while FOX premiered Don't Forget the Lyrics. Which one will last longer? Will both tank? Or maybe both will survive thanks to their lead in: America's Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance, respectively.

Now that both premieres aired it's time to decide if you'll be a singing bee or you'll try to not forget the lyrics.

Are you ready to sing like a bee? NBC hopes you are as starting on Tuesday, July 10, the network will air The Singing Bee. In a press release sent earlier today, the network confirms that Joey Fatone will host this sing-along variety game show.

Fatone is best known for having been a member of *NSYNC. However, he recently made his way on the TV map by finishing second in the most recent installment of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

(S04E19) After ten weeks, nineteen episodes, and an uncountable number of teases about results coming after the break, it all came down to tonight. As we have come to expect from the finale, ABC pulled out all the stops, bringing back all of the contestants, the pros, and the past champions. Also expected, they allotted an hour more airtime than they really needed, which led to a night that was heavy with pre-taped packages.

(S04E18) As Tom said, "Ten weeks, and it all comes down to this." We could argue about the order of the eliminations, who should have stayed longer (Shandi), and who hung around way too long (Billy Ray). But I think in the end, the right teams made it to the finals. There has been a lot of dancing over the previous nine weeks, and after all of it, these are the three teams that stood out above the rest.

With only three teams left, and the big disco ball on the line, each team has three performances to do this week. One is held off for the results show, but tonight we got to see each of them in the Judge's Choice round, and the much anticipated Freestyle. Let's get to it.

(S04E17) This week's elimination wasn't exactly shocking, but there was a lot of suspense leading up to the final announcement. There was also a ton of filler, and not the entertaining Kenny Mayne-style filler. In the recap of Monday's performances, we learned that Julianne snorts when she laughs, which only makes her more adorable.

(S04E16) We've reached the (thankfully) Cyrus-free semifinals, and it looks like tomorrow's elimination will be a nail-biter. There was absolutely no dead weight on the dance floor, a fact that made for an exciting evening of performances. There were perfect scores, pelvic thrusts, and the phrase "Yours is bigger." What's not to like?

Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough (Quickstep) - This week the contestants got to pick their favorite Ballroom and Latin dance styles. For the Ballroom round, Apolo and Julianne chose the Quickstep. Revealing his competitive spirit, Apolo set quite a few goals for himself. He wanted tens for his Ballroom round, and he wanted perfect scores for both dances.