TVSquad

When I first heard about a reality show called The Shark Tank, I thought, oh great. They've taken things too far and are planning to throw people into tanks with sharks. It's not quite that insane, but budding entrepreneurs might want to tune in for some pointers.

Helmed by Mr. Reality himself, Mark Burnett, The Shark Tank has been ordered to pilot by ABC. As I understand it, the unscripted project is adapted from a Japanese show called Money Tiger, which aired on Nippon Television from 2001 to 2004. The show has since been produced in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Nigeria, and the U.K.

The premise is interesting: aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to moguls, a.k.a. "Sharks," in hopes of landing investment funds.

• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of Just For Laughs, then new episodes of Primetime: Crime and i-Caught.
• FOX has a new On The Lot at 8.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 8, followed by a new Singing Bee.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker starting at 8, then a new episode of The Bronx Is Burning.
• At 9, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• CNBC has a new Conversations with Michael Eisner at 9.
• There's a new Bill Engvall Show at 9 on TBS.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Eureka at 9.
• Also at 9: History Channel has a new episode of The Universe.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new Giada's Weekend Getaways.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• TLC has a new L.A. Ink at 10.
• A&E has a new Criss Angel: Mindfreak at 10.
• Bravo has a new Flipping Out at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has the premiere of Power of 10, then a new Big Brother.
• FOX has a new On The Lot at 8.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 8, followed by a new Singing Bee.
• TCM has Jane Russell in The Outlaw at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker, then a new installment of The Bronx Is Burning.
• At 8:30, ABC has a new Just For Laughs, then a new Primetime: Crime and the premiere of i-Caught.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9, then a new Criss Angel: Mindfreak.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• There's a new Decorating Cents on HGTV at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Giada's Weekend Getaways.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has a new America's Got Talent, then a new Singing Bee.
• FOX has a new On The Lot at 8.
• ESPN has two new episodes of the World Series of Poker at 8, then a new episode of The Bronx is Burning.
• At 9, ABC has the season finale of Shaq's Big Challenge, followed by the special Prime Time: Family Secrets.
• "Shark Week" continues on Discovery all night.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 9.
• PBS has a new Wide Angle at 9.
• Larry King interviews Vice President Dick Cheney on CNN at 9.
• There's a new Eureka on Sci-Fi at 9, then a new ECW.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, then a new Criss Angel: Mindfreak.
• At 10, Bravo has the premiere of Flipping Out.
• FX has a new Damages at 10 (repeated at 11).
• At 10:30, Giada has one of her Weekend Getaways in Santa Barbara, CA. It's on Food Network.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Is this really a surprise to anyone?

CBS has canceled the lame Survivor redo reality show Pirate Master. And that's right away, folks. There are still five episodes that haven't aired, so CBS is going to (you guessed it) run them at CBS.com for all you fans dying to find out what happens.

I wonder if this is a rejection of a Survivor knock-off (which would be a good thing), a rejection of Mark Burnett (add to this his failure with On The Lot and so-so response for the latest Apprentice) or a rejection of reality shows in general? I hope for the latter but it's probably just a specific rejection. But we can dream can't we?

• At 8, NBC has a new America's Got Talent, then a new episode of The Singing Bee.
• FOX has a new On The Lot at 8.
• ABC has two new episodes of something called Just For Laughs at 8, then a new Shaq's Big Challenge.
• ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker at 8, then a new installment of The Bronx is Burning.
• At 9, CBS has a new Big Brother, followed by a new Pirate Master.
• TBS has the premiere of The Bill Engvall Show at 9.
• There's a new episode of Dirty Jobs on Discovery at 9.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Eureka at 9, followed by a new ECW.
• At 10, TLC has a new Miami Ink.
• A&E has a new Criss Angel Mindfreak at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.
• At 10:30, there's a new Giada's Weekend Getaways on Food Network (in New Orleans).

Check your local TV listings for more.

A couple of times a year, TV Week asks TV critics from print and online media to fill out a survey with their lists of the best and worst TV shows of the season. The summer list this year doesn't hold too many surprises in the "best" category, though I think the "worst" has a few (worst lists are always more fun to read anyway, right?). First, the ten best:

1. The Sopranos (HBO)
2. Lost (ABC)
3. Friday Night Lights (NBC)

• At 8, FOX has a new On The Lot, then a new Hell's Kitchen.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World starting at 8.
• There's a new Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8, then the premiere of Greek.
• Food Network has a new Good Eats at 8.
• ESPN has the Home Run Derby at 8, then the premiere of the miniseries The Bronx is Burning.
• Also at 8: American Life has 77 Sunset Strip, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Newhart, WKRP, and The Bob Newhart Show.
• At 9, ABC has a new Extreme Makeover.
• NBC has a new Age of Love at 9, followed by a new Dateline.
• PBS has a new History Detectives at 9.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Heartland.
• A new Unwrapped tours Chicago. It's on Food Network at 9.
• At 10, a new Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network features retro food places.
• At 10:30, BBC America has a new Hollyoaks.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has a new, two-hour America's Got Talent.
• FOX has a new On The Lot at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Shaq's Big Challenge, followed by a new Primetime: Family Secrets.
• PBS has a new Wide Angle at 9.
• Lifetime has the new movie The Staircase Murders at 9, with Treat Williams.
• HGTV has a new Decorating Cents at 9.
• The only good thing about having FOX Reality Channel: they're showing repeats of the Anderson Cooper-hosted The Mole. Two episodes start at 9.
• Also at 9: Sundance has a new Big Ideas For A Small Planet.
• At 10, TLC has a new Miami Ink.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has a new, two-hour America's Got Talent.
• FOX has a new On The Lot at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Bigamist, with Edmond O'Brien, Joan Fontaine, and Ida Lupino, followed by Outrage with Tod Anderews and Mala Powers (who passed away two weeks ago).
• The Bourne Identity airs on USA at 8:30.
• At 9, PBS has a new Frontline/World.
• ABC has Shaq's Big Challenge at 9, then a new Primetime.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
• Lifetime has the new movie Abducted at 9.
• At 10, TLC has a new Miami Ink.
• Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List at 10.
• There's a new ECW on Sci-Fi at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new On The Lot.
• ABC has a new Fast Cars & Superstars at 8.
• NBC has a new, two-hour America's Got Talent at 8.
• There's a new Nova on PBS at 8, then a new Frontline.
• TCM has On Dangerous Ground at 8, then While The City Sleeps.
• At 9, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter.
• The History Channel has a new The Universe at 9.
• The Travel Channel has a new John Ratzenberger's Made in America.
• At 10, TLC has a new Miami Ink.
• A&E has two new episodes of Criss Angel Mindfreak starting at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new On The Lot.
• NBC has a new two-hour America's Got Talent at 8.
• ABC has a new Fast Cars & Superstars at 8, then the NBA finals.
• At 9, Lifetime has the new movie A Family Lost.
• There's a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9.
• The History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new Road Tasted, in Philadelphia.
• At 10, Comedy Central has Brian Regan: Standing Up.
• Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
• Also at 10: TLC has the season premiere of Miami Ink.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E04) After the three audition episodes that seemed to plod along, spending so much time on interviews and back stories, this episode just felt odd. It was as if they stuffed two hours of show in a one hour bag. Dancers just appeared on screen with no names or introduction, whether we had seen them before or not.

It was also hard to get any idea about the judges decisions. For so many of the contestants we were only shown small fractions of their performance. Between this and the 'new format every week!' On The Lot debacle, I'm left wondering if everyone in the Fox reality department has just closed up shop for the summer. It's all very strange. But there were auditions, so after the jump a look at a few of the stories that stood out in Vegas.

I'm a little depressed at how effortless it was to come up with the shows for this list. How can I possibly watch this much television during the Summer?

Then I looked at the TiVo beneath my TV, the Media Center PC and Xbox 360 in the office, and the Slingbox Pro in my living room and laughed for having even asked the question.

All of this TV is feasible because I own devices that are dedicated to helping me ingest the maximum number of programs possible within a 24-hour period. I'm TV obese, and it's a wonder with all the sedentary behavior, I'm not physically obese as well.

That being said (and wholeheartedly ignored), here are 11 shows my toys will help me binge on this Summer.

• At 8, FOX has a new On The Lot.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, then the season premiere of America's Got Talent.
• At 9, ABC has the 2007 ALMA Awards.
• The History Channel has a new The Universe at 9.
• Bravo has Everybody Can Suck It, the new Kathy Griffin special, at 9, then the season premiere of her Life on the D List show.
• Also at 9: the Travel Channel has a new John Ratzenberger's Made In America.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, followed by a new Criss Angel Mindfreak.
• There's a new Road Tasted on Food Network at 9:30.
• At 10, FX has the season finale of The Shield.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.